Diana Scimone

"They are merchandise because they are just pounds of meat."

2009-10-30T17:33:38-04:00

That lovely thought is from the mouth of a human trafficker, talking about his victims.

He mentions it a number of times in Lives For Sale, a documentary that traces the story of 2 young women who cross the US/Mexico border illegally and end up being trafficked--one in California and the other in Florida.

Lives For Sale shows the strong connection between immigration and human trafficking, and why immigrants are willing to risk everything--even slavery--for the American dream. Many, of course, have no idea they are signing up to be slaves.

Click here to watch the trailer.

Human trafficking is the 2nd most profitable illegal industry on the planet, after illegal drugs. You can sell a drug once, but you can sell a person over and over again--and that's what happens to the women in Lives For Sale.

Here are some of the notes I scribbled in the dark while I was watching the film:

There is an increasing "feminization of immigration." 54% of immigrants around the world are women--and many pay their way with their bodies--willingly or unwillingly.

One young woman in the film was brought from Mexico to Phoenix to Los Angeles. When she arrived at a dark and dirty home, she was asked, "Do you know why you are here? To work. This is a brothel." To which she replied, "What is that?" This innocent young woman was forced to work as a prostitute.

Another young woman was held hostage in a home in a middle-class neighborhood in the US--which was actually a brothel. A neighbor noticed what was going on and called the police, but it took many calls before anyone believed her and rescued the young woman and others held hostage in the same house. "Finally someone believed my story," the neighbor said.

Quote from a state attorney in the US who prosecutes traffickers: "One of the first things I have to do is convince a jury that slavery actually exists."

500,000 undocumented people enter the US illegally every year. 70,000 of them will be trafficked. Desperation and crushing poverty lead them to believe the lies of traffickers who promise them the moon.

Whatever you think about illegal immigration, no one deserves to be a slave.

The film showed two programs in Guatemala that help people out of poverty -- which means they are less likely to become illegal immigrants and be trafficked:

One program gives kids economic incentives to go to school and stay in school. This is particularly important for girls. 80% of women in Guatemala are illiterate.

Another program--a coffee co-op--gives farmers a place to sell their coffee beans, make money, feed their families, and get out of poverty.

BTW, this excellent documentary has been shown on television only a handful of times. In Florida where much of it was shot, it was shown on a Sunday night at 12 midnight--not exactly prime time.

Why? Why don't more media show this type of film and expose the horror that is going on in our backyards?

To learn what The Born2Fly Project is doing to stop child trafficking, click here.

Update on 52 Kids Rescued From Prostitution

2009-10-27T23:30:00-04:00

Yesterday the FBI announced it had rescued 52 children over the weekend from child sex trafficking throughout the US.

Today we have more information. The youngest child was 10 years old--sold into prostitution by her mother. Her customers were migrant workers.

The investigations typically target places where minors are likely to be sold for sex, including truck stops, casinos, public streets, and Internet websites.

According to KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, these are the cities and numbers of children rescued:

Atlanta - 2

Chicago - 4
Cleveland (Toledo) - 7
Dallas - 2
Houston - 3
Las Vegas - 4

Los Angeles ( Riverside) - 2
Miami - 1

New York City - 5
Portland - 4

Sacramento - 4

San Diego - 3
Seattle - 9

Tampa - 2

Remember, there are still more than 100,000 children enslaved in the US. Let us work and pray for them to be rescued, too--and for millions more never to enter this nightmare world.

52 Kids Rescued From Prostitution in the U.S.

2009-10-26T23:38:32-04:00

How was your weekend?

It was pretty good for 52 children who were rescued from prostitution all over the United States.

The FBI conducted a 3-day undercover operation that rescued children in 36 cities around the U.S.

Surprised? Don't be.

“Child prostitution continues to be a significant problem in our country, as evidenced by the number of children rescued through the continued efforts of our crimes-against-children task forces,” notes Kevin Perkins, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.

“These kids are victims,” adds Ernie Allen, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which partnered with the FBI to rescue the children. "They lack the ability to walk away. This is 21st-century slavery.”

You can read more about the rescue operation here, and read more about child trafficking in US schools here and here.

Can you guess how many other children and young women are trafficked in the US each year?

100,000

They range in age from 9 to 19. Their average age is 11.

[Stock photo; child was not trafficked.]

News Flash: This is happening in your schools. (Yes, yours.)

2009-10-19T17:49:49-04:00

A few days ago, a high-school girl was put in prison for recruiting other girls for child trafficking.

It didn't happen in some far-off country, but in Phoenix, Arizona.

Sadly, the only unusual part of this story is that she got caught. All over the US, this is happening in schools in your neighborhood and mine.

Earlier this year, I wrote that child-trafficking recruiters are working in our MIDDLE schools.

I tell people this over and over again, and I know they don't believe me.

I've called investigative reporters to ask them to cover this, and can just about hear the yawns through the phone.

Here's the response I got from the editor of a large magazine in the US (3,000,000 circulation): "Child trafficking? Oh, we covered that last year."

Then to further dig himself a hole, he added, "It's all about timing in this business."

As if I had missed it.

Shouldn't we be shouting it from the rooftops that child trafficking is going on in our MIDDLE schools?

501 Unwanted Girls

2009-10-16T13:32:15-04:00

I met someone this week who adopted 501 unwanted little girls. He legally adopted every one of them, built homes for them, and even built schools--elementary through Ph.D.--for them to attend.

Yeah, I was pretty amazed, too. His name is Dr. P.P. Job, and he is from India.

To give you an idea of the status of girls in India, this is the greeting given to a woman on her wedding day: "May you be the mother of a hundred sons."

In India, almost no one wants a daughter. Here are some of the tragic statistics that Dr. Job shared:

2,000 girls go missing in India--every day.
5,000,000 girls are aborted in government hospitals in India--every year--simply because they are girls.

"From abortion and infanticide," says Dr. Job, "it goes on to denying education to the girl child, later to abuse of women. When a boy is born, there is celebration. When a girl is born, there is mourning."

The story for these 501 girls is doubly tragic. They were orphaned when their parents were murdered. Their parents were Christians and were killed for their faith.

Dr. Job and his wife know something about that; their 2 sons were killed for their Christian faith. Michael was 21 and in medical school, and his older brother, John, was murdered a few years later. Dr. Job and his wife started this amazing orphanage in their honor.

In India, there is no lack of children for the insatiable child-trafficking industry, and 501 suddenly orphaned little girls would have been prime targets for recruiters. Thankfully Dr. Job and his wife took them in--and continue to take in others.

Each one is one more little girl off the streets and in school.

One more little girl who will not be trafficked for sex or labor.

A Kid's Book That Will Help Stop Child Trafficking

2009-10-02T19:01:09-04:00

It's been a great week for The Born2Fly Project! We completed 2 milestones on the road to publishing our picture book to help stop child trafficking.

Early in the week, artist Leah Wiedemer finished the last illustration for the book. You can read about that here and see some photos of the day.

On Wednesday, Leah and I worked with the great staff at Eurografix, who took digital images of the illustrations.

Here's photographer Marnie Burkett setting up for the photo shoot:

It took a while to photograph the first illustration, of course, as Marnie made sure the lighting and settings were right.

Once we were all happy with it, the 3 of us went into action. First, Leah handed Marnie an illustration...

which Marnie carefully tacked up on the wall. Leah used soft pastels, which are very fragile; we joked about dropping one of the illustrations and watching all the chalk fall off. Thankfully that didn't happen.

As soon as Marnie shot one illustration, she gingerly removed it from its perch on the wall, handed it to me to put back into the box, and took the next one from Leah's waiting hands. It took about 2 hours to shoot all 75 illustrations.

The next day, Marnie popped the memory card into her computer and color-corrected every illustration, making sure it was as close to the original as possible.

Late this afternoon I picked up a DVD with all the illustrations and gave it to graphic designer Cathleen Kwas, who'll now turn everything into a book.

I'll have more photos for you next week as we continue to document the process of producing this book that will keep many, many kids from being lured into child sex slavery.

Our goal is to reach kids before the traffickers do, so we want to print truckloads of these books and the companion curriculum to teach kids about the lies that traffickers use. The more funds we have, the more books we can print.

You can donate by clicking the orange Chip-in button at the top right or here and donate safely by credit card or PayPal. All funds go to The Born2Fly Project to help stop child trafficking. Thank you for partnering with us to make this happen.

* * *

Donations are still coming in from the 09-09-09 fundraiser for The Born2Fly Project--thanks, everyone! Here are the latest totals:

Total donors: 595

Donations via Chip-in: $12,396.46

Donations via check: 3,457.99

TOTAL: $15,854.45 (as of 10/3)

How to donate: Click the orange Chip-in button at the top right or here and donate safely by credit card or PayPal. All funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking.

Finished!

2009-09-29T20:34:59-04:00

Today was a big day for Born to Fly International. Artist Leah Wiedemer finished the final drawing for the wordless picture book that is the centerpiece of The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. Can you hear us celebrating?

Now, you may ask, "How in the world can a wordless book keep kids from getting trafficked?"

Good question.

Most kids are lured into sex slavery because they don’t know the deceptive tactics of traffickers. Wherever awareness training takes place, the rate of trafficking plummets. There’s just not enough, nor is it available in the languages of most at-risk kids.

The B2F Project is a strategic plan to educate kids, parents, and teachers about the dangers of child trafficking—with the ultimate goal of ending it. Our goal is to reach kids before the traffickers do--and we'll do it with a wordless book.

Why wordless? So we don't have to translate it into a million languages.

Leah did a brilliant job of taking my storyline and retelling it completely in pictures--no words. All in all, she did 75 pages, each with 4, 5, or even 6 individual illustrations.

I have to tell you I had tears in my eyes as I looked at the last illustration. I've worked on this project for 4 long years, including 2 trips to Thailand to research it.

Tomorrow Leah and I have digital images taken of all 75 illustrations. Then the baton passes from Leah to designer Cathleen Kwas, who'll take all those images and turn them into a book. (OK, so we didn't have a baton, but we used one of Leah's paintbrushes.)

By November, we'll be ready to print. How many books will we print? Right now we have funds to print about 400. That's not nearly enough. We want to blanket the globe with these strategic books and the companion curriculum. Remember, our goal is to reach kids before the traffickers do. That means printing a lot of books (at least 100,000).

If you'd like to partner with us to do that, just click the orange Chip-in button at the top right or here, and donate safely by credit card or PayPal. Born to Fly International is a 501c3 non-profit organization and your contribution is tax deductible.

Watch this space for more photos as The Born2Fly Project prepares to take flight.

Reaching Kids Before the Traffickers Do

2009-09-25T11:33:11-04:00

It's been busy around here! Here's what has been happening since the 09-09-09 fundraiser to stop child trafficking:

1. You donated more than $15,600 for The Born2Fly Project! That's donations via Chip-in, PayPal, and check. Fantastic--thank you! Every penny goes to reaching kids before the traffickers do.

2. Any day now, I expect a call from artist Leah Wiedemer saying she's finished the last illustration for the wordless children's book that's the centerpiece of the B2F project. The book will be about 75 pages with more than 400 illustrations. (You'll love it!)

3. I'm almost finished writing the companion curriculum that will teach kids the important concepts in the book.

4. We're getting quotes from the printer on the final cost to print the books and curriculum.

Since we didn't reach our full financial goal of $81,000, we can't print nearly as many books as we want, but we'll print what we can.

Remember, our mission is to reach kids before the traffickers do.

Most kids get lured into trafficking because they don't know the ploys that traffickers use.

Wherever awareness training takes place, the rate of trafficking plummets. There's just not enough, nor is it in the languages of most at-risk kids.

That's the beauty of The B2F Project. Through a wordless book, we can educate kids and parents all over the world about the dangers of child sex trafficking -- no matter what their language or country, nor how remote their villages.

After working on this project for 4 long years, I'm thrilled we're almost ready to go to press and print these precious materials. I'm anxious to hear back from the printer telling us how many books we can print.

If you want to see that number go up, you can still donate via PayPal or credit card by clicking the orange Chip-in button at the upper-right or here.

On behalf of the many children we'll reach before the traffickers do, thank you.

Thanks, Everyone!

2009-09-14T11:24:39-04:00

Donations are still coming in from the 09-09-09 fundraiser for The Born2Fly Project--thanks, everyone! Here are the latest totals:

Total donors: 591

Donations via Chip-in: $12,376.46

Donations via check: 3,323.99

TOTAL: $15,700.45 (as of 9/30)

Although September 9 has passed, we are still very grateful to receive donations to help meet our goal--thank you!

HOW TO DONATE: Click the orange "Chip-in" button to the right or here, and donate safely by credit card or PayPal.

All funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking.

Remember, most kids get lured into child sex slavery because they don't know the tactics traffickers use. The B2F Project is a strategic 4-stage plan to educate kids, parents, and teachers about the dangers of child trafficking—with the ultimate goal of ending it.

Thank you for helping us reach kids before the traffickers do.

It's 09-09-09!

2009-09-09T01:36:44-04:00

Welcome to the 09-09-09 fundraiser to stop child trafficking. All funds go to The Born2Fly Project, which works to stop child trafficking through awareness and prevention. Learn more at www.born2fly.org.

HOW TO DONATE: Click the orange "Chip-in" button to the right and donate safely by credit card or PayPal.

UPDATE: Although September 9 has passed, we are still very grateful to receive donations to help meet our goal--thank you!

Total donors: 554

Donations via Chip-in: $12,095.46

Donations via check: 2,719.00

TOTAL: $14,814.46 (as of 9/12)

All funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. That's our passion--and this is what we do:

Thank you for helping us reach children before traffickers do. The 09-09-09 fundraiser will help us print and distribute strategic awareness materials to kids all over the world. You are helping us do that--$9 at a time.

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11:36 pm ET update: Thank you all for making 09-09-09 a big success. Thousands of people who didn't know about child trafficking now do. Thousands of others who knew about it and felt helpless now know what we can do to help stop it.

These are success stories--and you're part of them. Thank you for your love, prayers, donations, tweets, Facebook posts, blogs, emails, and words of encouragement. I couldn't do it without you!

10:26 pm update: And the winners of our final prizes are....

Tracey Solomon: 2 nights at any Aqua Resorts in Hawaii courtesy of AquaResorts.com (value $895)

Julie Dobson: Sterling silver and 14-karat gold-filled bracelet from MetaLace artist Kathryn Stanko (value $125)

Daniel and Shellie Hoffman: Pumpkin Patch original watercolor painting by artist Leah Wiedemer (value $350)

Congratulations to the winners and huge thanks to all the donors! I'll email winners and prize donors so you can arrange for delivery of your prizes (or promotional certificate for the resort stay). You can see details of your prize by scrolling below.

10:06 pm update: We're about to award the Hawaii resort stay...so if you're thinking of donating, this is the time!

9:09 pm update: Congratulations to these prize winners!

Donna Standridge: $25 gift certificate for PartyBeans.com

Carolyn Rowan: $25 gift certificate for PartyBeans.com

Emily Hill: $35 gift certificate for AnnouncementsGalore.com

I'll email winners and prize donors so you can arrange for delivery of your prizes. You can see details of your prize by scrolling below.

We'll award more prizes soon. Everyone who donates is eligible, and all funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. So chip-in $9 and you might win something nice.

9:05 pm update: It's almost 9:09 pm on 09-09-09. Time to award a few more prizes in honor of the moment...

7:40 pm update: Congratulations to these prize winners!

Melinda Howard (@MelArt): Custom Twitter background from TwitterWalls.com

Jon Swanson (@jnswanson): Custom Twitter background from TwitterWalls.com

FC Kibler (@Kibler): Premium membership to BreakPal.com

I'll email winners and prize donors so you can arrange for delivery of your prizes. You can see details of your prize by scrolling below.

We'll award more prizes soon. Everyone who donates is eligible, and all funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. So chip-in $9 and you might win something nice.

7:05 pm update: We have lots more great prizes to give away, so stay tuned.

6:19 pm update: Huge thanks to everyone who's donated so far! You are amazing. Our goal? To reach kids before the traffickers do. Your donation will help us print the B2F awareness materials and get them to at-risk kids and parents around the world. How great is that? You've just changed a life.

5:00 pm update: Congratulations to these prize winners!

Clifford Sumner: Purpose assessment with purpose coach Dr. John Stanko

Rockey Measom: $25 gift certificate for PartyBeans.com

Sue Henderson: Adventures With PawPaw children's book series, by yours truly

Erin McKennah (@McKennah): Sterling silver Twitter name necklace from Survival of the Hippest

Lisa Bergren: Slave Hunter, book by Aaron and Christine Buckley

I'll email winners and prize donors so you can arrange for delivery of your prizes. You can see details of your prize by scrolling below.

We'll award more prizes soon. Everyone who donates is eligible, and all funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. So chip-in $9 and you might win something!

4:45 pm update: Announcing 3 more prizes momentarily...Donate now by clicking the orange Chip-in button to the right.

4:27 pm update: Congratulations to these prize winners!

Alison Tishenko: DISC profiling with purpose coach Dr. John Stanko

Katrina Cole: $25 gift certificate for PartyBeans.com

Christine Moore: Trust Agents, book by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

I'll email winners and prize donors so you can arrange for delivery of your prizes. You can see details of your prize by scrolling below.

We'll award more prizes soon. Everyone who donates is eligible, and all funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. So chip-in $9 and you might win something!

4:14 pm update: Just ignore that Chip-in total! It hasn't updated on here for hours, but I can see the update on their site. Between Chip-in donations and checks, we're well into $12,000. Can we reach $13K by the bottom of the hour??

More prizes coming shortly. Tell 9 people.

3:47 pm update: Congratulations to these prize winners!

Julie Taylor Shematz (@JulietheArtist1): Custom Twitter background from TwitterWalls.com

Stacy Brice (@StacyBrice): Custom Twitter background from TwitterWalls.com

Stephanie Hamilton (@Nowhere2Hide): $25 gift certificate for PartyBeans.com

I'll email winners and prize donors so you can arrange for delivery of your prizes. You can see details of your prize by scrolling below.

We'll award more prizes soon. Everyone who donates is eligible, and all funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. So chip-in $9 and you might win something!

3:11 pm update: You pushed us over $12,000! Time for more prizes...

1:43 pm update: And the winners are:

Patricia Stallings: Original watercolor from artist Leah Wiedemer

Dirk Nebbeling: My Pittsburgh, book by Ed Folino

I'll email winners and prize donors so you can arrange for delivery of your prizes. You can see details of your prize by scrolling below.

We'll award more prizes soon. Everyone who donates is eligible, and all funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. So chip-in $9 and you might win something!

1:37 pm update: Ready to give away more prizes...

1:09 pm update: We passed $11,000! That's the Chip-in total + checks received. Keep it coming!

12:20 pm update: We have some just-for-Twitter prizes. If you're on Twitter and you've already donated, DM or tweet me to let me know so you'll be included in the drawing. (Plz RT)

12:09 pm update: Congratulations to these prize winners!

Steve and Francine Heiks: Set of Karim Rashid-designed kitchen and office tools from slice

Diana Day: Custom-made sterling silver charm bracelet from The Charm Factory

Norm Anderson: Beyond Purpose, book by Dr. John Stanko

I'll email winners and prize donors so you can arrange for delivery of your prizes. You can see details of the prize by scrolling below.

We'll award more prizes soon. Everyone who donates is eligible, and all funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. So chip-in $9 and you might win something!

11:58 am update: Coming up on 9:09 am Pacific Time--so time to award more prizes. Watch this space...

11:16 am update: Congratulations to these prize winners!

Bob Korzeniewski: MetaLace sterling silver circle earrings from artist Kathryn Stanko

Randy Arrowood: Julbo Kitty sunglasses from Traveling Mamas and Kara Williams

Sally Bard: Original charcoal portrait by artist Melinda Howard

Melissa Godshall: I Wrote This Book on Purpose, book by Dr. John Stanko

Margaret Buckley: The Quiet Place, music CD by Nancy Scimone

Janie Graziani: Long Time Coming, book by Ed Folino

I'll email winners and prize donors so you can arrange for delivery of your prizes. You can see details of the prize by scrolling below.

We'll award more prizes soon. Everyone who donates is eligible, and all funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. So chip-in $9 and you might win something!

11:09 am update: It's 9:09 am Mountain Time--and we're ready to award more prizes. Watch this space in a moment... BTW, the Chip-in widget is waaaay behind. We have 317 donors; I'll total the $$ and post it here.

9:27 am update: The total showing on the Chip-in widget is really behind. There are 283 Chip-in donors, and total should be around $7400. Plus $2200 from donations made by checks. We're nearing $10,000--can we do it by 10 am??

9:09 am update: Congratulations to these prize winners!

Nina Long: Plane Quiet Platinum Headset

Jim and Beth Herman: 2 small topiary plants from Shubert Nursery

Rebecca Anzelone: Essentials Skin Care Set from Saphoros

Charlene Elwood: The Power of Purpose book from Dr. John Stanko

Victor and Janice Danz: Adventures With PawPaw children's book series, from Diana Scimone

I'll email winners and prize donors so you can arrange for delivery of your prizes. Congrats! You can see details of the prize by scrolling below.

We'll award more prizes later this morn. Everyone who donates is eligible, and all funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. So chip-in $9 and you might win something!

8:30 am update: Here are the prizes we'll award at 9:09 am:

Plane Quiet Platinum Headset, from Shannon Hurst Lane

2 small topiary plants, from Shubert Nursery

Essentials Skin Care Set, from Saphoros

The Power of Purpose (book), by Dr. John Stanko

Adventures With PawPaw (children's books), by yours truly Diana Scimone

Scroll down for complete descriptions. Everyone who donates is eligible to win!

8:03 am update: We'll award prizes starting at 9:09 am. Watch this space... (Scroll down to see all the prizes.)

7:46 am update: I slept, you donated! The total is now $9,428.49 (Chip-in total + checks). Donor Andrew N. says, "Raise the bar to 90k if you hit the 9k before you even launch. :-)" Let's do it!

1:36 am update: You donated $8,832.49 in advance donations (Chip-in total + checks) even before the fundraiser officially started! (You are awesome!)

1:20 am update: All prizes are listed here. Everyone who donates is eligible to win.

1:08 am update: Just posted a late-breaking prize to give away later today--a customized sterling silver Twitter name necklace.

12:01 am update: The 09-09-09 fundraiser to stop child trafficking is officially underway!

09-09-09 Prizes to Give Away Today

2009-09-09T01:08:43-04:00

Welcome to the 09-09-09 1-day fundraiser for The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking.

Our goal is 9,000 people giving $9 each on 09-09-09 (that's today!).

How to donate: Click the orange "Chip-in" button at the top right and donate safely by credit card or PayPal.

* * *

We'll be giving away prizes all day today, and if you've donated, you're entered to win:

Aqua Resorts: 2 nights at any Aqua property in Hawaii

Artist Leah Wiedemer: Pumpkin Patch original watercolor

Slice: Set of kitchen and office tools designed by Karim Rashid

Jewelry artist Kathryn Stanko: MetaLace sterling silver circle earrings

Artist Melinda Howard: Original charcoal portrait

PartyBeans.com: 5 $25 gift certificates to online store

Jewelry artist Kathryn Stanko: MetaLace 14-karat gold-filled bangle bracelet

Purpose coach Dr. John Stanko: DISC profile

Announcements.com: $35 gift certificate to online store

Saphoros.com: Skincare Essentials Gift Kit

Artist Leah Wiedemer: Original watercolor painting (winner's choice of 3)

Purpose coach Dr. John Stanko: Purpose assessment

Travel writer Kara Williams: Kitty sunglasses by Julbo

TwitterWalls.com: 4 customized Twitter backgrounds

Survival of the Hippest: Sterling silver necklace customized with your Twitter name

BreakPal.com: Premium online membership

Schubert Nursery: 2 small topiary plants

Travel writer Shannon Hurst Lane: Plane Quiet Platinum Headset

The Charm Factory: Custom-made sterling silver charm bracelet

Books:

Trust Agents, by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

Slave Hunter, by Aaron Cohen and Christine Buckley

Adventures With PawPaw children's book series, by Diana Scimone (2 sets)

Unlocking the Power of Your Purpose, by Dr. John Stanko

I Wrote This Book on Purpose So You Can Know Yours, by Dr. John Stanko

Beyond Purpose, by Dr. John Stanko

The Quiet Place (CD), by Nancy Scimone

Long Time Coming, by Ed Folino

My Pittsburgh, by Ed Folino

How to Write a Book (e-book), by Diana Scimone

Everyone who donates to the 09-09-09 fundraiser is entered to win these prizes.

Remember, all funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. Our goal is 9,000 people giving $9 each on 09-09-09. That's today! (So tell 9 of your friends!)

How to donate: Click the orange "Chip-in" button at the top right and donate safely by credit card or PayPal.

One More Prize to Give Away on 09-09-09

2009-09-09T01:01:21-04:00

We've got one more super prize to announce: A sterling silver customized necklace with your very own Twitter name!

It's from SurvivaloftheHippest.com. Twitter ID necklaces are a cool twist to the nameplate trend for social media aficionados. Why leave your Twitter name stuck on the screen when you can wear it proudly in sterling silver?

The necklace you could win is part of the "Social St@tus Collection" from Survival of the Hippest. Survival prez Phoebe Jonas says this collection has rescued legions of Tweeters from Twittername obscurity and helped them increase their social net worth.

All necklaces are custom made from .925 sterling silver. Phoebe suggests a chain length of 14" long (to bring the total length of the necklace to 16").

Follow Phoebe on Twitter @thehippest. (She's the one with the cool necklace.)

We'll give away this prize on 09-09-09. All funds raised go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking.

How to donate: Click the orange "Chip-in" button at the top right and donate safely by credit card or PayPal.

Day 1: Crazy, Foolish, Ridiculous

2009-09-08T08:59:48-04:00

It's the day before 09-09-09 when we'll do something never done before: raise $81,000 in a single day to stop child trafficking.

It may seem odd at this moment to be thinking about my high school biology teacher.

Mr. Bateson spent a lot less time teaching us about frog innards than he did teaching us life lessons. At the time, his monologues about life used to annoy me because I knew tests were coming and I wouldn’t know the difference between a lung and a liver.

Flash forward a number of decades. I can’t remember a thing about frogs—but I still remember one of Mr. Bateson’s favorite lines: “It’s better to aim for the moon and miss than to aim for the gutter and make it.”

Today, 24 hours before trying something that seems like aiming for the moon, I’m remembering his words. And the words of someone else who told us just to step out on the water and trust Him.

It’s absolutely crazy to think we can raise $81,000 in one day. It’s totally foolish to think we can someday see the end of child trafficking. It’s ridiculous to hope I’ll be out of a job someday.

Sometimes the things that are foolish in the eyes of the world are pretty sane and normal and business-as-usual in the eyes of God.

So, thank you for being part of such a crazy, foolish, ridiculous thing.

Thank you to everyone who has already donated $9 or is ready to donate...posted something on their blog about 09-09-09...tweeted about it...Facebooked about it...emailed 9 friends about it...prayed for me...prayed for the kids we’re trying to keep from being trafficked...and more.

Thank you for joining me as together we aim for the moon.

Photo courtesy of PDPhoto.org

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Reminder: All day on 09-09-09, I'll post updates here, including prize give-aways.

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Day 2: Are Children Commodities?

2009-09-07T08:37:53-04:00

It's just 2 days until the Twitterthon to stop child trafficking. Our goal is 9,000 people each giving $9 on 09-09-09.

I want to tell you about an email I received from someone last week.

She gave me permission to share it with you--to show the critical need for the Born2Fly awareness materials.

I have only ever told one other person about the following experience when growing up in California. I was approximately 10 or 11 years old and had entirely too much freedom.

I was taking a short cut through an apartment complex and going home. There was a limousine in the parking lot but not in a parking spot. As I walked by, the back door opened to the guest in the back. It was a woman, well dressed and attractive.

First she invited me to sit next to her, and being as I was to sit on the outside of the seat I did so but left one leg outside the limo. Also, the door was left open.

She asked me if I wanted a job. I was curious and said, "Yes." She told me I would have to go home and pack up my things. She also mentioned that "they" could get my teeth fixed. I had an eyetooth that protruded slightly.

I told her "okay" and she said to meet her back there (in the parking lot) in an hour. I then left but had no intention of going with her.

Instead I left for awhile then came back and hid in the bushes watching the limo. It waited for me but not for long. It left without me and to be honest I had no idea what I had so narrowly avoided.

It took a long time, years actually, before I figured out what that was all about. Honestly, it really freaks me out now! I wonder if some other child had left with her and wish I would have been more attuned to what was going on. Maybe I could have helped catch her.

I was unaware of the situation I was in when it was occurring and it gives me shivers to think about now.

Thank you for all you are doing. I had not thought about that incident in years and because of your diligence in trying to make people aware of this problem it helped me to share my experience with my children. They are now aware of this evil and better prepared to acknowledge a dangerous situation if it occurs.

I've received other letters like this, which you can read here and here. All three of these incidents occurred in the US.

These children escaped from adults who were trying to traffic them. How many did not?

Can you see why I'm so passionate about getting the B2F materials into the hands of at-risk kids and parents all over the world?

Traffickers think children are commodities. Will you partner with us to tell kids they're priceless? $9 is a great way to start.

Day 2: Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

2009-09-07T08:34:18-04:00

Blogger Doug Picirillo is much better at math than I am.

Doug came up with a creative way to show the power behind Wednesday's 1-day fundraiser to stop child trafficking. Here's how it goes:

The goal is to raise $81,000 by asking 9,000 to chip in $9 by 9-9-9.

How do we find 9,000 people?

I tell 9 people. We are 10.
Those 9 each tell 9 more. 81 new people. We are 91.
The next 81 each tell 9 more. 729 new people. We are 820.
The next 729 each tell 9 more. 6,561 new people. We are 7,381.
The next 6,561 each tell 9 more. 59,049 new people. We are 66,430.

It might not go exactly like that, but it could. The numbers are simple.

Your $9 contribution is hugely important. But please, tell a friend or two or three or nine and ask them to pass it on!

I couldn't have said it better myself.