“I'm Always Beside You” (First 1/3 Wrap Up)
“I’m always beside you.” - by Ginny Coleman
We’re 1/3rd of the way into Freecember and we’re celebrating what you’re up to!
(Kind of like the end of the first period in ice hockey 🏒 🥅, the only sport I can think of that plays three periods, and not halves or quarters.)
You’re (dr)awesome!
Ginny has been drawing like a champ, accompanied by thoughtful posts like this:
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In America we might say “I’ve got your back,” but in Thai you would say something more like “I’m always beside you.” • Just because a child is “rescued,” it doesn’t end there. Each child faces a long and arduous journey to wholeness. • The word สนับสนุน (sanap-sanoon) in Thai means to support, advocate, encourage, back up, defend, reinforce... which is exactly what @hugprojectthailand does, every step of the way. •
And:
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Sitting heavy with this today. I branched out from happy pics of Thailand because I can’t stop thinking about 40+ million slaves in the world today. They are slaves for sex and porn, but also for shrimp and fish, for fashion and warehouse sales. Kids are forced into begging, sometimes even maimed or drugged to look more pitiful, then the pity money goes to their pimp. It’s in Thailand, it’s in Laos, it’s in Texas, Colorado, Tennessee too. 40 million is everywhere 💔💔💔 I thought that living here would make it easier “to do justice” or make it more accessible. And yes, it is more noticeable. But it’s easy to become comfortable and “busy” here, too. It’s also easy to get involved, no matter where you live. That’s why I’m doing this #freecember project. And why I want to support @hugprojectthailand, because it is founded by Thai, run by Thai, changing Thai systems and fighting for freedom of Thai children. Even $20 helps them provide care directly to a child recovering from the trafficking industry. Link in bio to donate
#drawingforjustice
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We found these to be 💔 beautiful heartbreaking hopeful words 💜
If you’re not following her on Instagram, you can @ginnyrcoleman
(She’s got a fun one on a collaboration with HUG and Dressember here.)
End of the First Period (First 1/3 Wrap Up)
Matt’s running and raising. He’s on £165 out of £500. Exactly 1/3 of his goal for IJM UK.
I ran 7.7km yesterday, so that makes 50km down (and only 105km to go!) 1/3 there. Whew.
Founder and International Director of Chab Dai, Helen Sworn has gotten their board involved: “I’ve started my #freecember Coffee/tea-off Challenge with our board members. We’re seeing who can raise the most by donating a £1 or $1 for every cup we drink! #caffeineaddictsunite”
That’s gotta be going well! Cheers ☕️ 🍵
Beauty for Ashes has raised $3,263 of $10,000, so right at 1/3. Way to go!
HUG Project has raised $5,575 of $20,000, not quite 1/3rd, but well on the way!
Finally, a huge thanks to Dorota, who has really upped the graphic design game on @freecember (Instagram and Facebook)
More like those to come. And you can grab some Freecember graphics here.
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P.S. Because we’re doing things a bit differently this year to make it better for the charities (i.e. not just a single giving page in the US with a grand total - so charities can use whatever giving platform in whatever currency & they can also see at a glance exactly where they toward their goal), I may have missed some people joining in (because I don’t have their total or their giving page info).
If you’re joining in, just shoot me an email or tag @freecember on Instagram or Facebook : )
Though we aren’t physically beside one another, it’s encouraging to be in this with you, Freedom Raisers!