‘Break the Chains’ Donations Top $100,000

Post a Comment » Written on July 8th, 2008     
Filed under: News
CHICAGO, IL (July 8, 2008) – Donations for the Break the Chains initiative to fight human trafficking have reached $100,000 in less than five months, according to Ruth Hill, executive director of Women Ministries (WM) of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

“This is utterly amazing,” Hill says. “I am humbled by the Covenant’s response to human trafficking. Because some expressed concern with the stark reality of our promotional DVD, I assumed the giving would be much lower than past initiatives.”

Hill says 135 churches already have participated, contributing 70 percent of the total raised. Fourteen individuals have donated more than $500.

The funds will be distributed to the project’s two partners: The Hindustani Covenant Church in India is ministering to prostitutes, and International Justice Mission will direct 100 percent of the donations to five bureaus in India to rescue and restore modern-day slaves, Hill says.

Covenanters are responding with more than just money. Some have shared on the human trafficking website about what they are doing as a result of the Break the Chains initiative:
•    Stacy Peterson of Chicago, Illinois writes: “In order to increase my own knowledge of this devastating violation of human rights, I have chosen human trafficking as the topic for a final project as part of my graduate studies in social work. I will work to raise awareness of trafficking within my professional and personal network.”
•    Karla Lian of Coon Rapids, Minnesota writes: Eight women from Anoka Covenant Church are making and selling bath salts with proceeds to be directed to Break the Chains. “I felt that by selling this product, the awareness of human trafficking would grow far more than if each of us just wrote a check and sent it in.  I met a woman at Costco and we got into a conversation about this. She asked if she could be a part of it also and is going to tell her friends.”

To learn more about modern-day slavery and how different Covenant departments are responding, visit the human trafficking website.

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