What do you get when you combine a dedicated community, a collection of resources and an energized student body? Well, in the case of Walk Her Home, these factors come together to form a creative, interactive and effective way to raise awareness on sexual exploitation. 32 students from Rustin High School did just that when they organized a movie night and informational fundraiser for their town in Pennsylvania. The students worked together on every aspect of the event: from creating an e-commerce site to sell tickets, marketing promotions, cultivating sponsorships and overseeing logistics, the students took the reins and the result was unbelievable.
The students were mobilized through a newly created Walk Her Home club at their school. Walk Her Home works to achieve their goal of raising awareness of the factors that drive demand for sex trafficking and exploitation and by providing support to victims and survivors through the creation of clubs at schools, community centers and churches around the country.
With teenagers as the focus, Walk Her Home provides toolkits for students to educate themselves and their peers on the dangers of Human Trafficking; complete with tips for events, fast fact sheets and other online resources. Events range from talent shows to cooking competitions, carnivals and bake sales to poker nights and 5ks. Students are given the resources to harness their creativity and make a difference.
The success of the students of Rustin High School did not go unnoticed, and the Chester County School administration was so impressed by the commitment and success of the students that there are now discussions to bring Walk Her Home clubs into more schools in the district and create school-wide Walk Her Home assemblies.
The money raised from the Rustin movie night fundraiser was generously donated to the
National Center on Sexual Exploitation to help aid NCOSE’s efforts in preventing sexual exploitation and the National Trafficking Sheltered Alliance to assist their direct services to survivors of sexual exploitation.. We are so incredibly grateful for the generous donation and the work being done by Walk Her Home clubs around the country.
There’s a lot we can learn from the next generation. Teenagers around the country are taking a more active role in the world, coming up with creative efforts and solutions to decades-old issues. Advocacy can come in a variety of forms. For some, lobbying on the Hill feels like an energized and exciting way to bring awareness to key issues. For others, conversations with peers or local events feels like the best way to reach an audience. There are so many ways to effect positive change; join these teens in thinking outside the box!
