Slavery was abolished is 1865 in America, but there are more human slaves in the world today than ever before, America included. The particular form of slavery that is getting a lot of attention right now is human trafficking. Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex. There are an estimated 27 million adults and 13 million children around the world who are victims of human trafficking and around 100,000 children are trafficked each year in the US.  There are many types of traffickers and many ways people can be controlled and forced to be trafficked. Some people are forcibly addicted to drugs to rely on a pimp. Kids captured by traffickers often are runaways spotted soon after they hit the streets. This problem is widespread, especially in Colorado. Colorado is considered a “source state,” one that traffickers come to get children to take elsewhere. Colorado is centrally located in the U.S. with major interstates. Many large scale sporting events and conventions are held in Colorado increasing the demand and accessibility. Therefore, there are many organizations combating sex trafficking based in Colorado. Restore Innocence is a local nonprofit established in 2007 working to better the lives of survivors of sex trafficking. A senior Kadet, Zach Hammer, has been volunteering at Restore Innocence for a while and wants to raise awareness.

Zach Hammer has organized a fundraiser at Air Academy to collect items for survivors. He is asking fellow Kadets to bring in supplies to your Blue 1 class. Zach said, “The supplies are going to be put into bags called restoration bags and then we give them to Restore Innocence. They will then be shipped across the country to 37 states and given to survivors of human trafficking.” The items that can be donated are new loose fitting knit pants, hoodies, T-shirts, sports bras, boy cut style ladies underwear, socks, travel sized shampoo, conditioner, lotion, toothpaste, deodorant, chapstick, individually packaged toothbrush, hair ties, hairbrush, slipper socks, blister gel bandages, small fleece blankets, and huggable stuffed animals. The supplies go directly to survivors and help provide the basic necessities survivors lack. “Many of the survivors are also put in jail and their possessions are often taken as evidence so these items really do help them,” stated Zach. 

When asked how he got involved in the organization, he said,”I got started by being challenged to find brokenness in the Springs and do something about it and when I found out about human trafficking, I was shocked and felt my heart was pushing me to combat this injustice. So I organized the fundraiser and have been involved in combating human trafficking ever since.”  Zach also organized a fundraising event for survivors his sophomore year which included an experiential walk-through. “I had a series of rooms set up so guests could go through and understand what someone being trafficked has to go through and even what they deal with after they are rescued or escape,” Zach explained. After the Air Academy fundraiser comes to an end, there are still some ways to help combat human trafficking. You can help just being aware of human trafficking and help raise awareness. Zach said, “Often we don’t realize we help support modern day slavery; whether it be through pornography or companies that are involved in labor trafficking.”

Make sure to bring in supplies to support survivors of human trafficking. Air Academy is proud of Zach Hammer for making a difference and bringing awareness to our community.

To find out more about the organization Restore Innocence, visit https://www.restoreinnocence.org/