Monday, December 22, 2008

a few words from Bono

From an interview he gave to the NY TIMES about Microloans:

Q. 5. How do you feel about micro-loans and micro-enterprise as a tool to end world poverty — by helping people help themselves to self-sufficiency? - Barry Stevens, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica

A. I met Professor Microcredit himself last week to discuss this. A very gracious, very great man: Mohammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. You know that mantra, "Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime"? It's missing something: microfinance is the fishing rod, the boat, the net, etc. Cash and dignity, side by side. Part of Professor Yunus's brilliance was to lend the money to women, who are much more reliable at paying back loans. Maybe the mantra should be: "Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Give a woman microcredit, she, her husband, her children and her extended family will eat for a lifetime."

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Microloans Featured on Totally Tabletops!!


Our Microloan Gift Cards were just featured on one of my favorite blogs, "Totally Tabletops"! Thanks to the owner of Totally Tabletops and The Invisible Hostess, Sheena, for helping us sell more cards and help more women! Click here to visit the Totally Tabletops blog.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

EWOP Microloan Gift Cards featured on Popular Blog!!

Our microloan cards have been featured on the very popular blog, "Mama Manifesto!" Check out the very cool posting that mentions what our group's microloan cards go towards in "Christmas Gifts that Give Back." Thanks Mama Manifesto!

If you are interested in purchasing a Microloan Gift Card this holiday season, please click on the BUY button on the top right hand corner and we will send one out for you right away!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Buy a Microloan Gift Card Online!

We have set it up so that you can use Paypal to buy one (or more) Microloan Gift Cards! Simply click on the Buy Now button on the top right of the screen, pay, and we will mail out your order right away.

If you would like faster shipping, please do not order through Paypal. Email us at eastsidewop@gmail.com and we will adjust your price to include shipping.

Please note: There is a $1 fee (making your total $26) when using Paypal. This covers the cost of the Paypal fee charged.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Microloan Sales For Christmas!


50,000

This is the number of young adults caught in the sex industry in Pattaya, Thailand.

$100

This is the amount of U.S. dollars needed to provide a young woman or man, formerly enslaved in prostitution with education, job skills training and a microloan to start a new job or business.

We need your help!

Help us RENEW a life this Christmas by selling $25 microloan gift cards to friends & family.

EWOP volunteers will be stationed in the mallway near the Information Desk this Sunday, Nov. 16th through the Sunday before Christmas to pass out microloan cards and/or collect any money raised.

Our goal is to sell 200 cards!!
That's $5000 or 50 young women & men to go through the microloan program.

For more information about the Microloan Program in Pattaya, go to http://www.bridgestothenations.com/.

For questions about selling the microloan cards, e-mail Amy Wasson at paul4amy@yahoo.com.

Friday, November 7, 2008

The Advent Conspiracy

Overlake is doing something different this Christmas that I'm really excited about and want to encourage our group to do something like this!! Take a look!


Eastside Women of Purpose Movie and Dessert Night!!

We are having a Movie and Dessert Night
on THURSDAY, November 13th at 7:30pm
at Amy Cheng's House in Sammamish!

If you are an Eastside Women of Purpose member
(and for some reason didn't get the invitation)
or would be interested in learning more about Human Trafficking,
please comment on this posting and include your email address!
We would love for you to join us.
(Feel free to bring a friend.)

Please Note: The dessert above will NOT be at our event. But it looks delish, doesn't it?)


Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Tee Off Against Trafficking Pictures

foursome

We had a fantastic time and it seems like the players did as well. Check out pictures by clicking here. You are welcome to purchase photos of your foursome or any other photos that you find interesting. The cost is very small ($2 for a 4x6), but the profit goes to the cause as well.

We were fortunate enough to have three photographers that day to fully document the event. Sarah Cutter, Amy Cheng, and Carlee Avery. Thanks go especially to Sarah for being the dedicated photographer of the day and getting all the great shots of the foursomes.

Monday, October 27, 2008

LAST MEETING OF THE YEAR!

JOIN US FOR THE LAST
EASTSIDE WOMEN OF PURPOSE
MEETING OF THE YEAR!!

IT WILL BE AN EVENT TO REMEMBER!
(Not really but we will be starting to sell microloan cards and those
are totally awesome - and an easy, great way to get involved.)

This Sunday, November 2nd at 9:30am
in Room 3 at OCC

See you there!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Response to "Call and Response"..."


Call and Response

THIS IS A GRASSROOTS FILM FOR A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT.
THIS IS YOUR FILM. THIS IS YOUR CAUSE.
JUST LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE STARTED!


WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A FILM WITH NO STUDIO SUPPORT
NO CORPORATE BACKING,
NO DISTRIBUTOR
NO ADVERTISING, NO THEATRICAL SUPPORT
AND ZERO BUDGET FOR PROMOTION


-Beats films like W and Max Payne on weekend screen averages?


-Is on track to be the #3 Political Documentary of the year?

-Outperforms last years Academy Winning Documentary?

-Sells out showings across the country?

-Ranks #1 or #2 in almost every theater where it shows?


THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS:

-Scores of young girls in Cambodia who were brought out of the sex slave trade will now
have valuable new skills that will lead to sustainable employment.


-Thousands of dollars are raised for global projects fighting human trafficking

-The calls coming into the Human Trafficking 800 number increase 400%

-Thousands of people use the TAKE ACTION platform on www.callandresponse.com
calling upon major companies to join the SLAVEFREE movement by investigating
their product chains. Two major apparel companies (Gap & Burberry)
answer the calls and agree to further inquiry.


-Thousands of people sign up for the TEXT MESSAGING campaign

And all of this happened in ONE WEEK

We continue to play this week in:

SAN DIEGO
MINNEAPOLIS
DALLAS
EAST BAY AREA, CA
CHICAGO
AUSTIN
SEATTLE



More screens being added daily.
STAY TUNED.
TELL FRIENDS.
THIS IS ON!


Another way to stay connected is to join our CRITICAL MASS text campaign. You get access to free songs from the film, updates, and up-to-the-minute info on the movement. We will be using the collective power of our CRITICAL MASS to make massive instant changes in this issue. Join the CALLS that will get a RESPONSE. TEXT “CALL” TO 90999. I promise you will never be solicited for anything other than justice.

Listen, this is a real story. There’s never been one like it and you are a huge part of it. I hope you can stay connected to the story by visiting the website, www.callandresponse.com, often to see all the new RESPONSES to this issue. We are seeing real change come out of this platform, and it all comes from you. Use it. And watch what happens.

Please continue to spread the word about this little open source film that’s being used to bring justice. We have just begun.

With respect,

Justin Dillon


It always seems impossible until its done.- Nelson Mandela

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Prostitution and Potential Human Trafficking in KIRKLAND!

Tucked away behind an accountant
Tucked away behind an accountant's office on Northeast 85th Street, the Red Rose Hot Stone Spa sits empty.

Kirkland Reporter

Prostitution charges for Rose Hill massage parlor owner, employees

By KENDALL WATSON
Kirkland Reporter Staff Writer

Oct 21 2008 · UPDATED

King County prosecutors filed charges Oct. 9 of promoting prostitution, a felony, against a Kirkland man and three other women.

Following a nine-month investigation, detectives from the King County Sheriff's Office believe Sheung Tam, 45, was running two massage parlors in Kirkland and Renton as fronts for prostitution. They also allege that her business partner, Kirkland resident Timothy Kevin Howell, and two Bellevue women, Wei Qing Tong, 46, and 39-year-old Chinese national Yu Xian Huang helped manage the criminal enterprise. The four are accused of running two massage parlors in Kirkland and Renton that offered sexual contact for cash. Howell, 35, is also listed as a Class-II sex offender from a past conviction for child rape.

The two businesses -- Red Dragon Spa at 352 Sunset Blvd. N. in Renton and Red Rose Hot Stone Spa at 13017 N.E. 85th St. in Kirkland -- were owned and operated by Tam, a Bothell resident and mother of a 22-year-old daughter. They were both raided in July and shut down. If convicted, the four face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Sharing the same block on 85th Street with Red Rose Spa, Red Rose Chiropractic Clinic and Rosehill Chiropractic Center -- which sits next to the Red Rose Hot Stone Spa property -- have suffered from some confusion over similar-sounding names and services. The chiropractors use professional massage therapists as part of their health care practice, while none of the "masseuses" at Red Rose Spa were state-licensed massage practitioners.

"We started getting some strange people coming in," said Lori, a receptionist for Red Rose Chiropractic. "Lots of men asking about massages and we were wondering 'What's going on?'"

Still advertised online at Yellowpages.com and CitySearch.com as "Red Rose Massage," the business is described as a place where a person will "feel safe enough to relax and unwind." The listing also provides a non-working phone number and includes an anonymous, negative review from earlier this spring.

According to court records, the investigation began last October after a vice detective monitoring the Internet noticed suspicious advertising for the Red Dragon Spa at the Web site Craigslist. The link between the two massage parlors became obvious as detectives followed Tam and Tong traveling between the two locations, delivering laundry and making payroll deposits at a local bank. A subsequent records check of state tax records reportedly lists almost no earnings for the two women. Undercover detectives later visited both locations several times while posing as "johns" and received offers of a sex act in exchange for $100.

Kirkland Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also aided the investigation.

The long investigation helped authorities gather additional information on the four suspects. A former boyfriend of Tam's told police she asked for his help to import Chinese girls in exchange for $30,000. Another person, a woman who identified herself as "Angie," said she knew Tam by her nickname, "Kitty," while living in Hong Kong, China. She feared her as "cunning and smart" and believed Tam planned to use a "younger man to front her a massage business."

An arraignment for the four is scheduled to be heard on Oct. 22 in Kent.

Kirkland Reporter Staff Writer Kendall Watson can be reached at kwatson@kirklandreporter.com or 425.822.9166 ext 5052.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Some Local News and Ways to Take Action

Please take a few minutes to look through the local actions that you can take RIGHT NOW. These are from a Eastside Women of Purpose member named Andrea. Thanks Andrea!

Tronie foundation event on October 25th
On October 25th, we have a wonderful opportunity to show our support for the Tronie Foundation by participating in an event titled "Partnering Together to Change Lives". The Tronie Foundation in partnership with Northwest Family Life is planning on opening an office together in Seattle and hopefully in the not too distant future, opening another shelter for rescued trafficked survivors. Proceeds from this October 25th event will help pay for the expenses of opening this new office in the Northgate Mall area.

The event takes place on Saturday, October 25th from 11:00am-2:00pm. at the Space Needle Restaurant. The Master of Ceremonies is Deborah Horne, reporter and producer for KIRO 7 news. The guest speaker is Rani Hong, founder of the Tronie Foundation and survivor of human trafficking.

Tickets for the event cost $35.00(includes lunch) and can be purchased from the website, www.troniefoundation.org


TVPA
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act is up for revision! This is an act that helps assist victims of human trafficking. The TVPA needs to be revised every two years. It has already passed in the house but is currently stalled in the senate. The house passed it with only two representatives not voting for it. The senate is currently having an issue coming to an agreement on two parts of the bill. The goal that we as abolitionists have is to have it pass through the senate with unanimity during the lame duck session. If it does not pass during this time, we will have to start all over after the elections. This would be a huge set back. Please urge your senator to pass this bill! If you live in Washington our senators are Patty Murray (D), her phone number is (206) 553-5545 and Maria Cantwell (D) her phone number is (206) 220-6400. When you call simply say I am calling regarding the TVPA, I would like to let the senator know that I would like this bill to pass during the lame duck session. I would also like to her encourage her to co sponsor the bill. Thank you. The staff answering the phone won't ask questions, their job is to just record the message. Not For Sale was in DC the other week lobbying them on this issue, by calling you are just helping to reinforce this. Thank you!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Friday, October 10, 2008

Shauna's Story of Slavery

My MIL pointed me to this article on the internet about a Florida teen who was tricked into slavery. Thankfully she was rescued after 4 days. We have an estimated 2 million slaves in our nation's borders- that's immigrants and citizens.

I find Shauna's story horrifying and shocking. My stomach flipped when I read that every 10 seconds a person is sold into slavery.

Read the article here.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

For All You Dr. Phil Lovers Out There (or even if you aren't)...

This Friday, October 10th, the Dr. Phil show will address the issue of human trafficking and publicize the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) Hotline.

Tune in and hear survivors tell their stories, an FBI agent recount a recent human trafficking case in Texas, and the filmmaker behind the new documenary film Call + Response discuss his anti-trafficking efforts. Julia Ormond, United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and featured actress in the new documentary film, Call + Response, will also join Dr. Phil to share her firsthand experience of witnessing and fighting human trafficking. Preview the show and find show times.

We are excited that the show will increase awareness about modern-day slavery and the services of the NHTRC hotline. We are preparing diligently for an increase in calls due to the coverage.

Currently, we receive hundreds of calls directly from trafficking victims, law enforcement agents, medical and legal professionals, community members, and policy-makers every month. In the past 10 months, the NHTRC has:

* Answered more than 4,200 calls
* Received calls in reference to more than 2,000 potential victims
* Reached an audience of over 4,000 people through more than 100 trainings and presentations
* Experienced a call volume increase of over 200% from the previous year.

If you are curious about the issue of Human Trafficking, what is being done, and how you can help, check your local listings... (Dr. Phil is on at 3pm in Seattle).

Friday, September 26, 2008

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Somaly Mam, A Cambodian Heroine

One of the remarkable women in the world, Somaly Mam, makes this special Seattle visit (Friday, September 19 at 7:30 pm, Elliot Bay Bookstore). A native of Cambodia who now divides her time between there and France, she writes of the horrific years of her early life, story which leaves one wondering at how it was survived, much less transcended and turned around for the vital, life-saving work she does today.

In The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine (Spiegel & Grau), a book that's been a critically-acclaimed bestseller wherever in the world it's been published, she tells of an early life of sexual slavery—a life countless girls and young women in southeast Asia have been forced into.


The book tells riveting stories—and itself is part of the work that Somaly Mam has put herself to, as cofounder and president of AFESIP (Acting for Women in Distressing Circumstances) in Cambodia, and the Somaly Mam Foundation here in the U.S.


"The horror and violence perpetrated on young girls to feed the sex trade industry in southeast Asia is personalized in this graphic story ... This moving, disturbing tale is not one of redemption but a cry for justice and support for women's plight everywhere." - Publishers Weekly.


"Somaly Mam's story is an account of how humanity can sink to the lowest levels of depravity, but it is also a testimony of resistance and hope. She lifted herself out of a well of terror and found the determination and the resilience to save others. Somaly Mam is my candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize." - Ayaan Hirsi Ali.


(As written in press release by Molly Jester, President of Stop Exploitation Now)

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Love Protects, Love Defends, Love Restores, Love Empowers

I want to emphasize an organization that Amy posted about earlier called Love146. It's an organization that's committed to bringing an end to child sex slavery. Their website is loaded with ways to be apart of the solution to ending slavery. I love the button that says "Be an abolitionist." That's what we are ladies, abolitionists!
There's so much I could say about this website, but I will leave it to you to discover it for yourself. Really though please check it out. There's also a link to their blog that is also interesting and helpful.
One of the co-founders of Love146 is a singer/songwriter and front man for the band Ten Shekel Shirt. This is one of the songs from their CD "Jubilee."
Daylight
I feel your presence Lord
Like the daylight upon me
I give you my best praise
In the safety of this place
But there's so much more
There's so much more...
My hands are lifted high
I sing of love so deep and wide
I search for timeless truth
With words I say I love you
But there's so much more
There's so much more...
Who will answer to the cries
Of the oppressed and the terrified
Who will stand up for the weak
The helpless and the suffering
I won't turn a blind eye, walk the other side
While slaves make our shoes
And our wedding rings too
While children are bought, their innocence sold
How long will we wait for you to take us away
Until we see You, You wait for us too
In the broken and the poor, in the sick and the abused
We long for your move. Well, You long for ours too.
There's no other plan that You've introduced
We've got to come through
We've got to come through
There is so much more we all have to do.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Protect Our Children Act, Senate Bill 1738

Many of you may have seen the Oprah show today where she did an expose about online sex predators in our nation and the growth of this industry. It was unbelievable! In addition to adolescent grooming and molestation, she went into graphic detail of the increase in infant and toddler sexual assaults being video recorded and traded online..... the industry is rapidly growing and becoming more violent as the demand increases.

Oprah urged viewers to assist the senate in passing is a bipartisan historical bill that will dramatically increase funding available to law enforcement which currently lacks the financial resources to meet the increasing level of crime. Currently, most cases can never even be pursued.

As stated on Oprah's website, "the PROTECT Our Children Act will:

  • Authorize over $320 million over the next five years in desperately needed funding for law enforcement to investigate child exploitation.
  • Mandate that child rescue be a top priority for law enforcement receiving federal funding.
  • Allocate funds for high-tech computer software that can track down Internet predators.

Act Now! Your U.S. senators will be voting on the bill soon, so it is crucial you contact them immediately. Go to www.senate.gov to find contact information for the senators in your state. Search for your senator by name or state by clicking on the arrow from either dropdown menu.

To send an e-mail, click on "Web Form" below his or her name, and e-mail your letter to make a difference! Call Your Senators. If you choose to contact your senators by phone, be sure to tell them, 'Vote yes on Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act.'"

For further detailed instructions on how you can help, visit Oprah's website: www.Oprah.com. There you'll find a sample letter to send to our senators which you can modify as you like. I did it in less than five minutes. It's super easy and something we can all do to help save the life of a child.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Girl Effect

Found this video here.

And it moved me ...



For more information, please visit The Girl Effect.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

YOU GUYS ROCK!!

We had our 2nd "Tee Off Against Trafficking" OCC push this past Sunday. It was a HUGE success! We had a lot of women (and one man) volunteering to serve. Here are a few pictures of the event. I love to see everyone working so hard and working together... INSPIRING!















Born In September?

I was born September 27, 1974! What about you?

A Little Girl

I heard a story this week that has rocked me and I can’t get the image out of my head. It has angered me and put a fire under me to try and do even more because things need to change. I came across a group called Love 146 that is also trying to end child sex slavery. I wondered about the number 146 and it’s meaning. The co-founders of Love 146 went undercover into a brothel that was selling children for sex. Here is their story :

"...standing shoulder to shoulder with predators in a small room. Looking at little girls through a pane of glass. All of the girls wore matching red dresses. They stood, blankly watching cartoons on tv. They were vacant, shells. There was no light in their eyes, no life. To be missing this was shattering. This light has been stolen, this life has been stolen. She is raped each night. Seven, ten, fifteen times each night. She is raped. She is thirteen, eleven, five-years-old. Cigarette burns cover her back. Scars we cannot see, cannot conceive of, cover her. Everywhere. Envelop her. There was one girl. One girl who wouldn’t watch the cartoons. Number 146. She was looking beyond the glass. She was staring out at us. Her piercing stare. There was still fight left in her eyes. There was still life left in her...

I can’t even imagine what was going on in her head at that moment. She didn’t ask for this. She doesn’t deserve to be there. I admire what Love 146 is doing and am so glad to be a part of Eastside Women of Purpose, also trying to eliminate this horror.

Tee Off Against Trafficking is an event raising money to stop kids from ever being kidnapped or sold into slavery in the first place. We have been asking for people to golf but now I am boldly asking you to donate. Anything helps. Please go to www.TeeOffAgainstTrafficking.org and make a donation so we can put an end to child sex slavery as soon as possible.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Dateline's Human Trafficking Clip





"An estimated 600,000 - 800,000 are trafficked across international borders each year...further it is not limited to SE Asia. Seattle is #2 in the US and play host to many types of trafficking, both domestic and international." These women and children, some as young as 5 years old are held prisoners in brothels and sold into sex slavery. They DO NOT have a choice, WE do. DO SOMETHING!! www.teeoffagainsttrafficking.com

Saturday, August 23, 2008

WOP Training Weekend

By the looks of this image, you probably can't read it but know this... there is a WOP training on Sept. 19th and 20th (you can go the 18th too if you are a new member). I think that I am going to be there for some of it and would love it if anyone else wanted to join me :)

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Welcome to the NEW Eastside Women of Purpose Blog!!

We are changing our blog address in hopes that it will make it easier to find and easier to blog! Join in the fun. Comment or email me (marisabutterworth@hotmail.com) if you would like to be a contributor. Can't wait!!