Over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing these precious and powerful messages on social media. We’re reflecting on what it means to journey hand-in-hand, and we’re asking you to join hands with children by giving monthly. 

The first 146 monthly donors who sign up, Love146 will receive an additional $100 immediately from a company called Export Solutions! That means that when you sign up for any amount, whether it’s $5 per month or $500 per month, Love146 will receive an additional $100 to end child trafficking.

When you give monthly to Love146 you're joining hands with children. And hand-in-hand is a good way to go through life, especially the hard parts.

This is a photo I took one wonderful day a few years ago at the top of Taal Volcano of children in our Survivor Care. Recently, this active volcano began erupting and the children at our safe homes in the Philippines had to be evacuated. Though the Round Home and White Home were safe from the eruption, volcanic ash fell on the property.  We moved the children to a safe place off-site for several days, where they played games and did learning activities while waiting for the all-clear. As the region is continuing to experience earthquakes and tremors, we have an evacuation plan in place. Each child has a backpack ready; and a driver is on call to bring them to a safe location. Our hearts go out to our neighbors in the Philippines whose lives and livelihoods have been interrupted by Taal Volcano.

How many people are being victimized by human trafficking? Why does being a child in itself make you vulnerable to predators? Are there really trafficking “hotspots?” We answered these and more during a series of videos for January’s Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Watch a video here, with all 10 facts.

This week, Love146 was a part of a forum (pictured) at discussing how issues of race and trafficking intersect. Every child is vulnerable to trafficking, no matter where they live, their economic background, their religion, or the color of their skin. But the hard truth is that children of color are disproportionately more likely to be trafficked than white children. There’s an intersection between human trafficking and races, and human trafficking is a racial justice issue. The forum brought together legislators, providers, educators, and law enforcement – and it brought to light that in the effort to end human trafficking, our conversations and solutions must be racially inclusive.

This spring, our US Survivor Care program is launching a job training initiative. Being able to get and hold a good job is an important step for those recovering from the trauma of being exploited. Trafficking isn’t a standalone issue. People struggling with poverty, including lack of housing and access to nutritious food, can be trapped in a cycle of serious vulnerability. This initiative is designed to break that cycle. We anticipate serving 35 youth in our first year, giving them the skills, resources, and confidence to attain financial independence.

Some 5,000 high school freshmen and juniors in Minnesota reported that they’d exchanged a sexual act for something of value. The survey, conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health, didn’t include sophomores and seniors, so the actual numbers could be as high as 10,000 kids or more. Among Minnesota’s strategic solutions: our Prevention Education curriculum, Not a Number. At a press conference, Jenny Miller, a Not a Number trainer and a director of the Twin Cities YMCA Youth Intervention Services, said: “Through Not a Number we give youth a safe space to have open dialogues about human trafficking, exploitation, vulnerabilities, risk factors ... At the end of the day, our young people learn the power they hold within themselves and ... it gives them the space so they can be the incredibly smart, creative, brave, and resilient leaders that they are.”

We’re holding this year’s Red Gala on May 2 at an historic firehouse in Houston. The event space spoke to us because the trafficking and exploitation of children is an emergency. Consider this: in the United States, we’re 5x more likely to be trafficked for sex than be injured or killed by fire.* Join us and be a first responder — helping to keep children safe from predators, and giving survivors the love and care they need and deserve.