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Blog at Truckers
Against
Trafficking | |
If you haven't already,
It tells what we're
involved in and where we're speaking.
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As seen on our Facebook page... | |
We asked the question, why do you want to be a part of the fight against human trafficking?
"I refuse to live in a society that accepts slavery."
"Because the thought of slavery and child exploitation is abolutely abhorrent."
"Because everyone deserves freedom and to be treated decently."
"The fingerprint of God is on every human being and I want to see victims' dignity restored in full plus some."
"Because an injustice to one is an injustice to all!"
"Because they are all our children."
"For the survivors, the victims who no longer have a voice, and to protect others from being subjected to this abuse. To raise awareness that this is a global issue and that it is rampant in the U.S."
Thank you to every single one of you who stands up and says, "No more!" to human trafficking. You are our heroes! |
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Hello friends and supporters,
Another year is upon us, and we are excited for 2013! Because of you and your generous support, we are moving forward on working with industry leaders to integrate our training into their standard employee training programs, continuing to form loose coalitions between law enforcement who investigate trafficking cases on lots and the general managers of those lots, and educating people everywhere about the realities of human trafficking.
Thank you for believing in the power of the trucking industry to combat human trafficking. 2013 holds even greater opportunities for growth, and TAT is excited to partner with an industry that truly can affect lasting change.
Truckers Against Trafficking |
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 TAT Board Elects Newest Member
The Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) board elected Scott Perry, vice president of supply management for Ryder Fleet Management Solutions, as its newest member in the November meeting.
In his present position, Scott leads Ryder's vehicle procurement, parts procurement, warranty operations, inventory planning and management, and corporate real estate functions for North American operations. Scott holds an MBA from the University of Tennessee and has over 20 years of experience in vehicle maintenance operations, logistics and distribution management, carrier and transportation management and warehouse operations. He also carries direct responsibility for developing and deploying Ryder's alternative fuel and vehicles strategies for the organization. He currently serves on the board of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE), the NGVA (Natural Gas Vehicles for America), and the Florida Trucking Association.
"I have been involved in the transportation industry as a career for more than 20 years, and come from several generations of industry professionals," said Perry. "I grew up in trucking and know the caliber of individuals that make up the industry; they are the salt of the earth - full of honor and pride. When I first heard of TAT and how our youth and our industry were being targeted by traffickers, I knew I had to get involved. I am so very honored that Truckers Against Trafficking has given me the opportunity to serve as a board member and help identify ways to increase awareness and provoke action regarding this fight against human trafficking. My hope is that one by one, every driver, every technician, every service provider, every manufacturer, and every employer operating within this great industry will partner with TAT to eradicate trafficking."
Kendis Paris, TAT national director, commented, "Scott is an incredible addition to the board, because he understands TAT's vision and invests himself in seeing it fulfilled."
Scott Perry
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TAT Named an Award Winner in the Fight Against Human Trafficking
For their work helping members of the trucking industry engage in the fight to end human trafficking, Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) and three of its founders have been recognized by national anti-trafficking organization Global Centurion Foundation (GCF) as one of three winners of the 2012 Norma Hotaling Anti-Trafficking Awards.
To commemorate the anniversary of Norma's passing on December 17th, 2008, GCF offers these three awards paying tribute to Norma's legacy and recognizing individuals continuing her life's work.
"Words can't express the honor of being named a winner of the 2012 Norma Hotaling Award," said TAT National Director Kendis Paris. "It's really an award for the entire trucking industry, because they're the ones on the front lines, recognizing human trafficking when they see it, making the calls and saving lives."
Norma was trafficked into prostitution as a child and remained trapped in the sex industry for eighteen years, but through sheer personal will, she was able to free herself from the vicious cycle of abuse and exploitation. For the next two decades, Norma dedicated her life to help reach and rescue victims of prostitution and sex trafficking, along with focusing on the demand-side of sex trafficking by developing new programs and policies for men and boys.
"It is an honor to pay tribute to Norma Hotaling's tremendous legacy by recognizing organizations and individuals who have continued in her life's work, and we are thankful for the generous donations from so many of our supporters that allow us to recognize these champions in the fight for freedom", commented GCF President, Laura J. Lederer, J.D.. "Together, we can continue to reach those who have suffered the violence and oppression of modern slavery, we can reduce demand through developing innovative programs and campaigns, and we can focus on developing policy that better protects victims and provides resources to prosecute offenders and prevent human trafficking."
Every year, GCF grants three $5,000 awards: (1) An award recognizing a Survivor-Centered Service Provider; (2) an award recognizing Innovative Demand Reduction; and (3) the Josephine Butler Award for Abolitionist Policy Development. The three awardees for 2012 are:
Survivor-Centered Service Provider
Tina Frundt, Founder and Executive Director, Courtney's House
Tina Frundt is a leading figure in the crusade to help children sexually exploited for commercial purposes. Ms. Frundt is a survivor of domestic sex trafficking who now dedicates her life to helping women and children heal from domestic sex trafficking and commercial sex exploitation. After realizing there was no specialized housing available for sex trafficked children in Washington, D.C., Ms. Frundt founded Courtney's House in August 2008. Since its inception, Courtney's House and Ms. Frundt have helped over 500 victims escape from being trafficked. Ms. Frundt has testified before Congress about her own experiences and also trains law enforcement and other non-profit groups to rescue and provide resources to victims.
Innovative Demand Reduction Award
Kylla Leeburg, Kendis Paris and Lyn Thompson, Co-founders, Truckers against Trafficking
Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) is a non-profit organization that exists to empower and mobilize members of the trucking and travel plaza industry to combat domestic sex trafficking by providing educational training resources to prevent modern slavery to travel plaza employees, all students of private and public truck-driving schools, and all truck drivers employed via major carriers and owners/operators. TAT also partners with law enforcement to facilitate the investigation of human trafficking and modern slavery.
Josephine Butler Abolitionist Award for Policy Development
Kathryn Xian, Founder and Director, Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery
The Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery (PASS), is a Hawaii-based not-for-profit whose mission is to stop Human-Trafficking in Hawaii and the Pacific. PASS provides services and advocacy for survivors of Human-Trafficking, education and training on the identification of victims of Human-Trafficking, and public awareness and prevention education for the greater community. Under the leadership of Ms. Xian, PASS has also strived to build alliances with public interest legal services, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), churches, non-profit community organizations, domestic violence shelters, educational institutions, and law enforcement to advocate for effective policy to combat human trafficking and protect victims of modern slavery. Ms. Xian coordinated a coalition of NGOs to help educate and advocate for a series of legal reforms including new Hawaiian laws prohibiting promoting prostitution and labor trafficking. This year, PASS is advocating for safe harbor for children along with demand-focused prostitution laws.
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Thank You to All Who Helped with TAT's Greenbaum Foundation Grant Match
At the beginning of September, the Greenbaum Foundation offered a $50,000 matching grant opportunity to Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) for the final four months of 2012. Thanks to the generous giving of so many TAT supporters, we completed the year with $47,396, which the Greenbaum Foundation will match, bringing the total to $94,792.
"This money will go a long way toward helping us provide TAT materials and training support to members of the trucking industry across the nation," said Kendis Paris, TAT national director. "We're so grateful to everyone who contributed to this matching grant opportunity and to Jim Greenbaum and the Greenbaum Foundation for making it available to us."
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First TAT Cruise Delivers Fun and Frolic
The first Truckers Against Trafficking cruise - the Carnival Conquest -- set sail on Oct. 28 from New Orleans for the Caribbean. The cruise was the brainchild and project of Carol Cipriano, owner of the travel agency, Carols Travel Time. When Carol heard about Truckers Against Trafficking, she contacted TAT immediately. An expert fundraiser for non-profit organizations, she wanted to do a fundraiser cruise with speakers, entertainment and some interesting tours for the guests. "After chatting with Kendis Paris from TAT, I was convinced I had the right organization and the right cruise," Carol stated. Headliners for the 8-day cruise were singer/songwriter Joey Holiday, who specializes in trucking music and Dave Nemo and Michael Burns from Road Dog Trucking Radio. Raffle items were provided by Tenstreet LLC, Double Coin, Centramatic, Videodashcam, OOIDA, Street Vehicle Recorder, IdleAir, and TA/Petro. "The response was fantastic right from the start," Carol said. "Phone calls kept coming in from interested drivers and their families. And Dave Owen, president of NASTC (National Association of Small Trucking Companies) provided guests with a Bon Voyage Party in New Orleans the night before they sailed." She continued, "TAT's mission is hard to ignore or turn away from. To me, everyone who went on the cruise is a hero. Each one cared enough to really get involved by coming on the first-ever TAT cruise. They all seemed like warm, caring people eager to help save our children by donating to TAT and spreading the word about TAT." Itinerary for the 122 people on the cruise included a tour of New Orleans before embarking, a tour of Rose Hall in Jamaica at the first port of call and stops at Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Beside the port trips, guests had get-togethers at sea. Michael Burns explained the Art of Negotiating. Joey Holiday performed, singing favorites as guests shouted out requests from around the room. Dave Nemo played some trivia games and gave out prizes. Unfortunately, the names of the prize winners, and those who won the raffles, were lost and are unavailable for this article. Dave Nemo and Michael Burns have agreed to come along on the next TAT cruise which Carol is already working on for 2013. The cruise garnered gross proceeds of $13,413. 39, and after all cruise expenses were paid, TAT received a net donation of $7529.53. Thank you to all who participated in the cruise and were a part of making this donation. The ship for the 2012 TAT Cruise was the Carnival Conquest Musician/songwriter Joey Holiday performed for guests, accompanied by Dave Nemo on drums Radio personality Dave Nemo and his wife Cheryl dressed up for Halloween night
Sleepy harbor in Grand Cayman |
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What is TAT?
Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) is a non-profit organization that exists to educate, equip, empower and mobilize the trucking industry to combat human trafficking as part of their regular jobs. To a great extent, domestic sex trafficking occurs along our nation's highways and at its truck stops, where traffickers can sell their victims to a transient population they believe are less likely to attempt rescue. In response, TAT is asking the 3.5 million domestic truckers, as well as other members of the trucking industry, to become aware of this issue, and, when they suspect a human trafficking case, to call the national hotline and report it.
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