FAIR Fund Helps End Human Trafficking

FAIR Fund is an international nonprofit organization based in Washington D.C. that works to prevent human trafficking and sexual violence in the lives of youth around the globe. With an emphasis on young girls aged 11 to 24 FAIR Fund has an active presence in Bosnia, Chicago IL, Serbia, Russia, Washington D.C., and Uganda.


FAIR Fund utilizes a combination of educational workshops aimed at prevention, outreach and art therapy for exploited young girls and girl survivors. Additionally they use a variety training methods to educate supporters how to identify and assist high risk and sexually exploited or trafficked teens by reaching out to teachers, social workers, police, judges, students and medical professionals.


To-date FAIR Fund has educated over 5,000 professionals worldwide on how to reach out to and educate youth on keeping safe from sexual violence and human trafficking. They believe this is a critical step in ending youth trafficking and exploitation.


The programs of FAIR Fund include utilizing two core curriculums that focus on education and building relationships with high risk youth. Their Tell Your Friends program was piloted at Washington D.C. public high schools and reached over 2,000 youth. The program’s goal was to reduce the risk of commercial sexual exploitation of teen girls and centered on a four-week educational workshop series in public high schools with the theme prevent human trafficking. Designed to facilitate discussions among teens each workshop focused on youth’s perceptions of healthy and unhealthy dating relationships, commercial sex exploitation and human trafficking. The Tell Your Friends program is based on real life experiences of teen survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

By reaching out to train and educate youth about this issue FAIR Funds hopes to educate young girls who are at risk on what sexual exploitation really is, what the consequences are, and how to protect themselves.

Another program Project Prepare! works in collaboration with the International Organization of Adolescence to prepare youth leaving orphanages or refugee camps to lead productive lives and be aware of the many forms of human trafficking and abuse.

Developed in 2005 this program focused their efforts in Eastern Europe with the goal of reaching youth orphaned in an economically devastated part of the world. Poverty, war, natural disaster, and parental abandonment lead to orphan care and these children are often denied the chance to lead healthy and productive lives. Project Prepare! provides training during the transition from youth to adult life. Working with youth to create job skills training, and education on how to identify and avoid traffickers the youth are given empowerment skills to make better decisions for their lives and a chance for to lead healthy and product lives.

The JewelGirls program gives young girls who have experienced trafficking and sexual exploitation first-hand the opportunity for art therapy and economic empowerment. By training young girls in the art of jewelry making each girl has the opportunity for an income generating job and a chance at a healthy independent future.

JewelGirls learn how to make and sell their own jewelry while also learning marketing, communication and finance skills.

While each child in the FAIR Fund programs comes from a different background, have different life experiences they all share one thing in common, they are learning skills that will keep them safe from future exploitation. Come see our socially conscious gifts that support the end of human trafficking.

Ideas for Socially Conscious Gifts

The most environmentally and socially responsible gifts have always been ones you make yourself out of recycled material. In our culture however, while mom might appreciate a handmade basket, there are some situations where you need something else, but still want to give a socially conscious gift. Especially in business situations where you do not have the time to create 20 unique gifts, you may need to dabble into the emerging business of socially conscious gifts.

The first step in giving a responsible gift is to determine if it is really even necessary. Are your gift-giving habits only formed by watching too many pre-Christmas commercials? Maybe you can make an agreement with a friend that you will both give to charity instead of to each other. When you do buy a socially conscious gift, know that they usually fall under one of two categories. Some are responsible to their labor force and try to use environmentally friendly manufacturing methods, while other responsible gifts benefit a noble cause.

Most adults would be happy to give up the turtleneck sweater and bath set for a donation to disaster relief or impoverished children. Another popular gift for a cause is ones that benefit the awareness or involvement in a movement. Examples are human trafficking or illegal whaling.

To buy products that use fair labor, often in areas where people are basically sweatshop slaves, look for the "fair trade" "sweatshop free" and "organic" tags. You may have to do some research to see what labels mean what. Organic is indirectly backed by the Department of Agriculture. Fair trade is monitored by a nonprofit organization, while some labels like "green" may not be regulated at all. Some unscrupulous businesses take advantage of this fact, so make sure you know what your labeling means before you buy what you think to be a socially conscious gift. As they said in school, education is the way to stop ignorance.

Another good alternative to commercial gifts are socially conscious gifts that encourage you to spend time together or visit a laudable location. Maybe you could buy someone a trip to a National Park, or tickets to a children's choir. If you still must buy that big ticket item, look up where the money goes, and who might be exploited. Responsible shopper is a tool that looks to do just that.

Common Corporate Social Responsibility Practices

In order to survive in a unified world, both companies and consumers are going to have to consider the social impacts of their actions. Many companies now have a "CSR" Corporate Social Responsibility division in the company, although some exist in name only. Other companies have been built from the ground up with more ethical guidance than the stock market's "long term value for shareholders."

Some businesses like Newman's own and Ben and Jerry's had living in harmony with the world one of their goal's from the beginning. One thing that socially responsibile businesses try to harness is the support of their customers. Usually being responsible involves not cutting some corners that your competitors do. To support this increase in price, consumers must be able to see additional value in these products. One movement that is supporting this view that socially responsible products are valuable is socially responsible gift giving.

Consumers identify either products or companies that have ethical backings that they support, and give those gifts both as a symbol of their identity and to support causes. Socially responsible gifts can also be used as a political tool to spread awareness about a certain topic. Just as socially responsible gifts can be viewed as having more value than traditional gifts, people and companies who follow such practices set themselves apart.

Our consumption driven economy is just not sustainable. Not only are people spending so much more than they make that they are being kicked out of their homes, one only has to look at the state of once invulnerable financial institutions: the government. Even governments are realizing that borrowing against the future in hopes of unlimited growth is impossible.

Gift-giving on Christmas at current levels - to everyone you know or you are unpatriotic - is unsustainable. However there are some socially responsible gifts that you can give that do not harm the environment or place unrealistic burdens on the economy.

The range of different types of responsible gifts is large. They may be made with well paid labor in an area where most workers are basically slaves. They could be made of enviromentally firendly products that don't pollute, or that do not require a large amount of energy to create. Or responsible gifts could support a particular cause. Of course, you do not have to spend money or go through a corporation to give a responsible gift. Making something yourself out of materials you already own has a positive environmental impact, and anything handmade has more sentimental value than something bought.