Hearts Should Be Free 2014 Recap - Our Impact

It's been a little over a month since Hearts Should Be Free (the giveaway event I host here to raise awareness of modern slavery ended), and I've been going over the giveaway entries.  They tell a lot about how much need for awareness there really is, so I wanted to share with you some of what I found.

544 people in total entered the giveaways (many entering more than one). All but one of the giveaways required people to answer a different question related to modern slavery to enter.    Below are the questions I asked and how people answered.  Some of the specific things they said really moved me, so I shared some of them too.

QUESTION 1

Before today, did you know that there were as many as 27 million people currently in slavery?

• 111 people answered this question
• 90 answered no (81%)
• 21 answered yes (19%)*

*5 of the yes answers were those who didn't know that exact figure, but knew it was around that much.  Since different organizations vary a bit on their estimation, I counted that as being aware.

What some people said...

"Wow - I did not.  Am I naive to have thought it was much less??  That's terrible!"

"Yes. Shocking and tragic. I want to do something."

"I didn't realize the number was so high. This has to be put to an end."

QUESTION 2

Before today, we're you aware that sex trafficking of minors was a problem in the USA?

172 people answered this question

50 answered no (29%)

120 answered yes (70%)

(2 answers were too vague to decipher) What some people said... "Unfortunately, yes. It happened to somebody I know. " "Yes. I have four daughters. I worry about it all the time. I love that you are bringing awareness to this!" "I had no idea that sex trafficking of minors was a big deal in the US. I honestly haven't heard anything about it, and didn't think it was a problem. It should be more talked about! The foundation you've provided is amazing, as well as helpful for any teen (my age) - or children. This foundation deserves to get noticed and talked about!" QUESTION 3 Before today, did you know that there were still people illegally enslaved in The United States? 147 people answered this question 63 answered no (43%) 81 answered yes (55%) (3 answers were too vague to decipher) What some people said... "Yes, but only because of another HSBF post!" "I knew it happened in other countries, but I never thought it was still happening here" "I did. I used to attend talks about it at my college. We tried to raise awareness within the community, but people don't want to hear about it. There needs to be more attention drawn to this problem in main stream media. Its a problem that we can help, but a lot of us choose to remain ignorant." QUESTION 4 Before reading this post, were you aware that  in some parts of the world today the cost of a slave is less than $100? 121 people answered 93 said they didn't know (77%) 23 said they did know (19%) (5 gave ambiguous answers) What some people said... "Yes, and it sickens me." "I knew slavery existed still. sigh...but cost? I had no idea!" "I didn't even realize that there were slaves. It's heart breaking!"* *Though this wasn't specifically asked, 5 respondents said that they were not even aware that there were still  slaves in the world today.  That's exactly who I wanted to reach with this event. QUESTION 5 Before visiting Hearts Should Be Free, did you know that there were millions of children in slavery today, and that many are sold for sexual exploitation? 171 total answers 54 said no 18 said "sort of" or "didn't knwo the extent" 98 said yes (1 gave an ambiguous answer) What some people said... "I had no idea... I imagine most people have no idea." "I didn't realize that the number was so high, so so sad." "I know that there are millions of kids sold into slavery everyday and it breaks my heart." QUESION 6 For the final giveaway I asked what people planned to do about slavery.   73 people answered and 44 people (60%) said they planned to do something.  That stat just made my day.  Here's what people said they planned to do: 18 people said they would help spread awareness. 13 said they would learn more about slavery 9 said they would try to make a difference with their shopping habits (buying more fair trade, boycotting shops that had ties to slavery, ect.) 2 people said they would donate  2 people said they would take political action 2 people said they would pray 2 people said that they would be more aware 1 person said she would take "every possible action i can take within my means and capability, stand up when i can for them , or help the, in any way"  (Wow!) (Some mentioned they would do more than one thing, and one answer was ambiguous, so that's why this doesn't add up to 44, if you're wondering) Here's some of the answers people gave.  Hope you find these as encouraging as I do... "I'm trying to buy local, fair trade, and certified cruelty free. It's harder than I thought :/" "I've never really thought about it as a current issue so I guess the first thing to do would be to get educated! Thanks for the info/resources!" "I'm not sure yet, it seems like such a huge issue for one person like me, but I think the first step is to raise awareness!" "I'd love to do something to help, I've actually done a lot of research on it and it kills me! I'll definitely be looking into charities to help!" "I showed my sister your links about raising awareness when she stopped by earlier--she said she had no idea that these things were still going on. I plan on showing many more people to raise awareness for something so awful, that not enough people even know about!" "I've decided to boycott certain chocolate and clothing companies with bad ratings on free2work." "No plans just yet, but I am still thinking about it.: "We shop with awareness - for example, every year for Christmas my MIL buys us girls (herself, me, her other DIL, and her daughter) matching pajamas. Our pajamas for 2013 were from an organization that helps women who have escaped sex slavery" "It is something I should do something about but I haven't yet.  I think it is one of those issues that almost feels to large to tackle.  Thank you for the reminder to act." Would you like to help with Hearts Should Be Free next year?   Click here to fin out how you can help!