Operation Underground Railroad Celebrates GivingTuesday with Fundraising Campaign

ANAHEIM, Calif., Nov. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This GivingTuesday, Operation Underground Railroad is making a difference "For the One," inspiring generosity through the launch of an online collection of goods from brands which employ survivors of human trafficking. Handmade by women and men who have survived trafficking, the items will be available to purchase throughout the day on GivingTuesday. Every sale will support both O.U.R. and each brand's mission of relieving suffering and offering a path toward healing, one survivor at a time.   

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement, unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and their world. GivingTuesday will kick off the generosity season this year by inspiring people to give back on November 30, 2021, and throughout the year.

"It's an honor to be participating in GivingTuesday this year," said Jessica Mass, VP of O.U.R. Aftercare. We are passionate about bringing awareness to the issues that continue to affect millions of people around the world, to empower survivors in their many talents, and to provide greater understanding as to what it really means for a survivor to have holistic freedom. GivingTuesday offers us a chance to do all of those things while also showcasing six incredible survivor-made store brands."

The six brands participating in O.U.R.'s GivingTuesday event are:

• Made Free: Every purchase of a Made Free item supports the creation of a dignified and empowered pathway out of trafficking, slavery and extreme poverty through a self-sustaining job. Items are handcrafted by small factory teams that meet or exceed the World Fair Trade Organizations (WFTO) standards.
• Starfish Project: Starfish Project provides safe, dignified work making fair-trade products and a holistic care program to women at risk for trafficking in Asia. It invites women and girls to experience freedom from their lives in the sex industry, equips them with the tools they need to build independent lives, and provides specialized vocational training.
• Ethic Goods: Each piece is handcrafted by the woman it helps employ. Ethic Goods' China and Thailand lines are handmade by women impacted by human trafficking.
• Badala: With the income they receive making Badala's fair-trade products, survivors of human trafficking are enabled to cover their living expenses and send their children to school—major steps in breaking the chain.
• Rethreaded: Rethreaded provides opportunity for survivors of human trafficking through employment in production, inventory, sales, marketing, finance, and admin.
• SutiSana: SutiSana fights trafficking and sexual exploitation by offering new and abundant life for their artisans—survivors of human trafficking in Bolivia. As employees of SutiSana, women also receive health insurance and a retirement plans and are given continued opportunities to learn and grow.

GivingTuesday was launched in 2012 as a simple idea: to create a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past nine years, GivingTuesday has raised billions of dollars for critical causes around the world and gets billions of impressions on social media from people and organizations speaking up for the causes that matter to them and encouraging others to get involved in their communities.

GivingTuesday inspires people all around the world to embrace their power to drive progress around the causes they care about, not just on one day but throughout the year." said Asha Curran, GivingTuesday's CEO, and co-founder. "With country and community leaders, millions of organizations, and countless givers of all kinds, GivingTuesday is creating a shared space where we can see the radical implications of a more generous world."   

Those who are interested in purchasing items to support O.U.R.'s #GivingTuesday initiative can visit ourrescue.org/fortheone. For more details about how to get involved with O.U.R. on GivingTuesday, visit O.U.R.'s, Facebook page and follow @ourrescue on Instagram and Twitter. 

About Operation Underground Railroad

To shine a light worldwide on the global epidemic of child sex trafficking, and in so doing rescue more children from slavery and assist law enforcement to seek justice for those who violate children. While our focus remains on children, we assist survivors of all ages to bring them safety and healing. We place survivors on a path to recovery by partnering with vetted aftercare providers or by placing them with families. For more information visit, www.ourrescue.org 

About GivingTuesday

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past nine years, it has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

Whether it's making someone smile, helping a neighbor or stranger out, showing up for an issue or people we care about, or giving some of what we have to those who need our help, every act of generosity counts and everyone has something to give. GivingTuesday strives to build a world in which the catalytic power of generosity is at the heart of the society we build together, unlocking dignity, opportunity and equity around the globe.

SOURCE Operation Underground Railroad