January 30, 2014

Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways


The cool thing about blog giveaways is you can usually tell now many people are entered. The less entered, the better your chances to win. Here's some I found with low entries ending TODAY!

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 6 day, please submit it here






Ends Jan 30


Scansnap SV600 (138 entries)


Ends Jan 31




Ends Feb 2

2 Button Cards (12 entries)


Ends Feb 7

Photography Training Program (48 Entries as of Jan 30)








January 28, 2014

HSBF Giveaway: World Problem, World Love

When I first learned about modern slavery, I was shocked just to learn that it still existed.   I didn't realize that it happened here in American.   I didn't think it could.  I assumed  it was solely the problem of a few third world nations, and I had no idea how widespread it was.

But right here in the United States there have been men beaten and locked in a trailer and forced to pick tomotoes, women have been forced to work braiding hair in a salon without pay, and many are forced to sell their bodies night after night and threatened with violence if they leave--those are just a few examples of slavery right here in the United states.  And these aren't isolated incidents.   The Global Slavery Index estimates that at least 57,000 slaves exist just in the US today.  While impoverished areas and unstable or corrupt governments are the primary breeding grounds for modern slavery,  slavery also happens in developed and stable nations like Canada and the United Kingdom.  Slavery is a not just a third world problem. 

Poppy & Pinecone has donated an item for this giveaway that I thought was fitting for the subject matter:  An 11" x 14" World Love Print.   I see in this map a symbol of the hope that as more people around the world know and care about the problem of slavery, that it can end.  Because while the problem of slavery is huge, I believe that the heart of humankind is bigger.




TO ENTER
To enter to win the World Love map print above, just answer a question on the Rafflecopter form below.  Extra entries are available after you answer the first question.


You must be 18 or older to enter.  Entries accepted through Feb. 12.  Winner will be chosen and announced here Feb. 13.  Full entry rules are listed at the link on the bottom of the Rafflecopter form.


FOR THOSE OUTSIDE THE U.S.
This giveaway is only open in the United States, Canada (except Quebec), The United Kingdom, and the following areas of Australia  (QLD, NT, TAS, and VIC only).   I would love to make my giveaways open in more places, but it's hard to meet all the legal requirements for various countries. 





a Rafflecopter giveaway

January 24, 2014

Join the Anti-Slavery Garage Sale!



Would you like to do something tangible to help victims of slavery?   Do you have crafty hands, or things lying around your house that you no longer need?   Then maybe you would like to help by selling something in the Hearts Should Be Free Anti-Slavery Garage Sale.

You can sell items through any venue you choose, and then list them here.  I suggest selling through Ebay giving works.  There are many anti-trafficking charities who are part of the giving works program, so you don't need to build a relationship with a charity...you just pick a charity to donate to, choose how much you want to donate, and list your item.  Ebay does not charge any listing fees on items that donate 100% to charity.


Then, after you've listed your item, just come back here, and follow the instructions below to link up. 

If you are selling through another venue, just remember that in most cases if you will need to get a charity's permission to sell things in their name (that's why I suggest Ebay Giving Works...it allows you to skip that step.)  If  you are looking for an organization to give to,  Chyanne Ledbetter of 27 Bath and Body is raising funds for a project to help trafficked girls in Cambodia, and she welcomes people to contact her through her shop if they would like to sell things to fund her project. 


How To List An Item For Sale
on the Anti-Slavery Garage Sale

1. Pick out an item to sell. (Check the Prohibited Items List below to make sure it's ok).
2. Post it for sale through Ebay Giving Works or another venue of your choice.  At least 20% of the price must be donated to a charity that helps victims of human trafficking or which is working to end slavery--that must be clearly stated in your listing.  
3.  Come back here and list it on the linky below.   In the space for "name" please put the following info:
Item Name (amount/percentage to charity) End date if auction

EXAMPLE:

Baby Clothes (100%) 2/05


SHOPS OR PAGES WITH MULTIPLE ITEMS

The Pretty Things Shop - Various Items (20%)

IMPORTANT NOTE:  The form is having trouble grabbing Ebay pictures from the site, so in stead, use the Upload Option (another tab on the first page that comes up after you enter the info). 
PROHIBITED ITEMS:  No medicine, food, weapons, alcohol or illegal items.  All items must be family friendly (no porn, offensive items, etc).  


Thanks so much for linking up.    Hopefully together we can earn a lot for some excellent organizations!


January 22, 2014

Anti-Slavery Blog-a-Thon

Graphic by MistressAquarius with photo by Selma17.


I want to encourage all the bloggers out there to use their voice to help spread awareness about modern slavery.  As many as 27 million people are enslaved today, and so many people don't know.  I encourage you to use your blog to talk about slavery, then come back here and share your post in the linky below.   If you're not sure where to start, click here to find some ideas and resources to help you out.  You are also welcomed (but not required) to grab the button below to share this event with others.




This blog-a-thon is part of the Hearts Should Be Free event to raise awareness of modern slavery. 



January 21, 2014

6 Ways to Blog About Slavery


Many people don't know that slavery still exists, but there are as amny as 27 million slaves in the world today. You can help spread awareness by blogging about this issue. Not sure where to start? Below you can find 6  ideas to get you going, and links to resources to help you spread awareness.


1.  Blog About the Facts
The facts surrounding slavery are mind-boggling and heart breaking. I've compiled a list of seven facts I thought were especially informative or compelling which you are welcomed to use

Other great sources for facts about slavery:
United Nations Worldwide Report on Human Trafficking
2013 U.S. State Department Report on Trafficking in Persons.
The Global Slavery Index

A WORD ON COPYRIGHT:  Just remember that while facts themselves are not copywrited (at least in the US) the way things are worded IS.   It's ok to quote a sentence or two from a report or article verbatim if you put it in quotes and credit the source, but make sure that most of the post is written in your own words, even if it uses facts from various sources.


2.  Share a Video
There are many, many great videos on you-tube and they are easy to embed in a blog post.  They can stand alone or be incorporated into a longer post.  Click here for a list of suggested videos.

HOW TO POST A YOU-TUBE VIDEO:
To post one of these videos on a blogger blog, simply click the "share" button after watching the video, then click the embed button to get the code. Click over to the HTML tab in the post editor and copy paste the code.:  For wordpress blogs see instructions here.



3.  Blog About Slavery Where You Live
While awareness of slavery is glrowing, many still think it's something that happens "somewhere else."   But it is present worldwide.  Blogging about slavery where you live can help shed light that slavery isn't "some other country's problem" but everyone's problem.

So how do you find out about slavery where you live?  A simple google search with "human trafficking" and the name of your city, state, country, or region will often bring up news articles.  And below are some more resources to help you find local info on human trafficking where you live:

Sources:

WORLDWIDE:

SlaveryMap.org
Slavery Map records instances of slavery across the globe.  Unlike the Global Slavery Index it's goal is not to estimate the total number of slaves in a certain area, but to highlight individual stories.  It's a great tool for bloggers because you can actually embed a map of an incident in your area right onto your blog.  Incidents are shown with an orange flag with an exclamation point (if you see a number that means there's more than one incident in that area).  When you click on it a screen will come up showing more details about the incident, and a copy paste code for embedding it on your blog.


Global Slavery Index
This site gives estimates of the number of slaves in nearly every country around the world, and ranks countries by prevalence of slavery.  They also have special reports on a select number of countries, and have some additional reports on a few other countries.


U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons Report  (All Years)
This has a detailed "country narratives" on nearly every country around the world.  It's somewhat difficult reading, but has a lot of useful facts and details.

US:  STATE BY STATE RESOURCES

Shared Hope International 2013 State Report Card
This report card ranks states according to 41 key legislative components that must be addressed in a state’s laws in order to effectively respond to the crime of domestic minor sex trafficking

Polaris State Ratings on Human Trafficking Laws
An overview of laws by state dealing with trafficking, with a grid that shows how well each state does on this issue.

UNDOC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons - 2012
This United Nations report has several charts which break up statistics by nation.  You can find them fairly easily just scrolling through the report.  Some are in map form.  I don't think you can copy the charts as they are but you could certainly use info from them.

US Data from the Polaris Project
The Polaris project has a lot of good state by state data for the US.




4.  Focus on an Aspect of Modern Slavery
Slavery is such a broad topic.  Sometimes it's good to focus on just one aspect of it.  If you're blog is related to a certain topic, you might want to write about slavery in light of that.  For instance, if your blog is about cooking, you could write about how slave labor often contributes to our food supply.  If you have a parenting blog, you could tackle how to talk with your kids about this issue.

You could focus on a charity working to help victims, focus on labor slavery, prostitution and slavery, take a closer look at laws about human trafficking being considered, etc.



5.  Use A Compelling Graphic
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words.  I don't know if that's true, but I do know that a picture can catch someone's attention and sometimes draw them in to read 1,000 words...or however many you dedicate to this subject.

Click here to see images you can use on your blog...
(with restrictions...please read instructions below each picture.) 








5.  Share YOUR Plan to Fight Slavery
How do you plan to combat slavery?  By spreading awareness, maybe by becoming better informed, or even giving to an organization working to end human trafficking?  Whatever you plan is, consider sharing it with others...and maybe they will be inspired to do something too.   



Did you blog?
Link-Up Your Posts in the
Anti-Slavery Blog-a-Thon!
(Jan 22 - Feb 22)


Click Here to Link Up
  



GRAPHIC CREDIT
The graphic for the mousepad came from a custom mousepad I made using Zazzle.  You can make one yourself like it there using their fonts and tools.  

Videos About Slavery

Posting or sharing short videos can be a compelling way to spread awareness of Human Trafficking.  You can find many on YouTube.  Here's some  that I found that I thought were especially well-done.

Shorter Videos

FCAHT:  Slavery Gets a MakeOver - 1.01 Minutes
Short and compelling message.  Not a lot of words or information, but a link where they can find more.  (Parental Note:  Choral song in the background sings "what the hell are you doing" in one part of video).

FCAHT:  Slave Auction -1:14 Minutes
A voice-over of an "slave auction"  with modern women and men being shown.  Disturbing and powerful.
(Parental Note:  All people in the video are well-clothed but the auction voice-over includes sexual refernces such as "strip her down, let the gentlemen look..she's full up front and ample behind").

Modern Day Slavery - Supply Chains - 2:33 minutes
This informative video overviews slavery today with current statistics.
(Parental Note:  Overall fairly safe to show.   Does show a used condom.)

A21 Campaign:  Natalia's Story - 4.08 Minutes
I like how this video combines one girl's story with overall slavery statistics, and ends with a hopeful message.  This was made in 2011 so a few of the numbers may be outdated, but still a good general overview.  This video includes a request to support the A21 Campaign.

Love146 Videos (various)
Love146 has various excellent short videos on human trafficking.



Longer Videos

TED Talk:  How to Combat Slavery by Kevin Bales - 18:32 minutes
This is the video that compelled me to start Hearts Should Be Free.  Though it is from 2010 and some of the statistics have become outdated, as a general overview of the problem it is still relevant and compelling.

TED Talk:  Photos That Bear Witness to Slavery - 19:18 minutes
This video shows the stories of modern slaves through photography.  It is heartbreaking.



Graphics and Artwork for Blogging About Slavery

Do you want to spread awareness of modern slavery by blogging about it?  Looking for a graphic or photo to illustrate your post?  Below are some  you can use.  The photos are either licenced under Creative Commons, have statements allowing their use on the website, or I've contacted the artist and they have given permission for these to be used by others blogging about slavery.

PLEASE DO READ THE TERMS LISTED UNDER THE IMAGE.  Credit is usually required, and sometimes notification, and some may not be used commercially (which may mean no use on commercial blogs) so make sure to read the text under each graphic to see what you need to do to use it. Also, please DO NOT REMOTE LINK, as this slows down the servers of the sites these graphics are from. Save to your own computer then upload to your blog.



Trafficking Series by Talinakirra




Talinakirra has a series of 9 infographics, each with an image, a word, and a sentence with information about human trafficking. No credit or link back is required to use these images. In her words, "they are there to spread awareness and anyone who wants to use them can, no credit needed." However, if you would like to give credit you can use the following code:  

<A HREF="http://talinakirra.deviantart.com/gallery/?q=trafficking">Human Trafficking Infographics</A> by <A HREF="http://talinakirra.deviantart.com">Talinakirra</A>.



Trafficking Educational Graphics from Mosaic by Jacob Haynes



The first four graphics found here (the ones wholly in black and white, not the ones with color)  are under creative commons licence.  Mosaic Services has stated that images may be used for outreach and education purposes.  For re-use please credit Jacob Haynes.  No derivative works or commercial use.  You can use the copy paste code below to add the credit under the graphic on your blog.  

Graphic from <A HREF="http://mosaicservices.org/">Mosaic Services</A> by <A HREF="http://www.jacobhaynesdesign.com/">Jacob Haynes</A>.


Images by Imagens Evangélicas




 Imagens Evangélicas has a series of similar photos, some with text in English or Spanish, on flickr, which are under creative commons.  Attribution is required.  You can see all the photos here.  You can use the copy paste code below to add the credit under the graphic on your blog.  

<A HREF="http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=69812620@N08&q=human%20trafficking">Human Trafficking Images</A>. by <A HREF="http://www.flickr.com/photos/imagensevangelicas/">Imagens Evangélicas</A>.


Other Sources for Graphics
You can search under slavery or human trafficking at the following sites to find images to use.

Wikimedia Commons
Most of these are under Creative Commons licence or some other open/share licence.  Some requirements, such as attribution, may be required, and commercial use may be prohibited.  Please read the text on the image page carefully to make sure you comply.  

Pixabay - Slavery Images
These are totally free for any use, even commercial.




If you are an artist who wants to contribute a graphic for this list, please contact me at ecarian@yahoo.com.


January 15, 2014

HSBF GIVEAWAY: Necklace From UNBOUND Style (ENDED)


Sex trafficking accounts for over half of all human trafficking around the world, and it's a problem right here in the USA.  76% of human trafficking convictions by the US Department of Justice  in 2012 involved forced or underage prostitution.   Pimps often prey on vulnerable youth and run-aways, first luring them in through deception, then keeping them out on the streets through threats of violence.

The sponsor for this giveaway, Theresa Hoey of UNBOUD Style, is doing something to help children and teens escape prostitution.   At least 15% of everything sold at UNBOUND Style is donated to Children of the Night, a organization which works to help child and teen prostitutes .   Some items from her shop earn even more for charity.  Below is the first of a line of bracelets she's making with 100% of the profits going to support Children of the Night...

The Hearts Should Be Free Bracelet


The gold chain has a tiny heart, hand-molded, cured,
and sanded by Thereasa.  These sell for $16 and 100% of 
the profits go to help Children of the Night.  

I am honored that Theresa choose to name her beautiful line of bracelets after this event, and am thrilled that these will be earning money for an organization that is filling such a desperate need.  Before I move on to the giveaway, I wanted to share a video with you that explains a little bit more about Children of the Night and what they do.








Now, About the Giveaway...

  

Theresa Hoey has graciously donated the necklace above to be given away during Hearts Should Be Free (this is one of two necklaces she's donated for the event.  The other will be given away in a separate giveaway later this week).    You can connect with Theresa at her shop, on her facebook page, on twitter, and on  instagram

To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  You must be 18 to enter.  Entries accepted through Jan 29.  Winner will be chosen and announced here January 30.  Full entry rules are listed at the link on the bottom of the Rafflecopter form.


NOTE TO THOSE OUTSIDE THE US
This giveaway is only open in the United States, Canada (except Quebec), The United Kingdom, and the following areas of Australia  (QLD, NT, TAS, and VIC only).   I would love to make my giveaways open in more places, but it's hard to find info on where giveaways are legal and what laws and special requirements every country has.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

NOTE:  Children of the Night did not endorse this post and neither is this blog or this event affiliated with Children of the Night.   This post is in collaboration with UNBOUND Style.  After the event was done Theresa did send me a couple items from her shop, just out of the sweetness of her heart...however, I didn't know she was going to do this when I wrote this post or during the giveaway.



HSBF Giveaway: Hearts For Hearts (ENDED)

Hello and welcome to the first giveaway of the Hearts Should Be Free, 2014.  I am holding this giveaway, and this event, for ONE reason--to spread awareness of the 27 million people in slavery today.

This first giveaway will be for a set of heart push pins donate by Melissa of  The Tiny Bee , and a set of heart valentines from my Scribbleprints shop with matching stickers.

A Giveaway From
The Tiny Bee and Scribbleprints





In the last couple years since the first Hearts Should Be Free, I've been happy awareness spread by things like  National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month and the CNN Freedom Project.    But there are many who still don't know, and many more who have misconceptions about the scope of modern slavery.  I've taken the time this last month to dive into some of the new research and reports on trafficking that came out in 2012 and 2013, and compiles the following short list of facts about slavery.  I hope you'll take the time to read through it.


7 Facts About Modern Slavery
  1. There is an estimated 27 million people in the world enslaved today.  
  2. Human trafficking is the modern term for the "slave trade."
  3. Traffickers maintain control of their victims through various means, including violence, coercion  and threats of harm to loved ones.  
  4. 27% of known trafficking victims are children. 
  5. Sex trafficking accounts for 58% of all human trafficking.  Forced labor makes up around 38%.  Other forms of human trafficking include forced marriage, transportation of people for organs, and forced enlistment of child soldiers.  
  6. Victims of  forced labor have been found in nearly every job setting imaginable...including factories, restaurants, private homes, medical facilities, farms, and construction sites. 
  7. While poverty can leave people more vulnerable to enslavement, this is not just a third-word problem.  Slavery is present even in developed nations like the United States.


( Please feel free to copy this list and share it on your blog, tweet about it, etc.     I don't require any credit or back-link, but if I do ask that you include the list of sources below, and if you copy this list verbatim, let others know they are free to copy it too.)

I hope you will also consider joining some of the other events this month on Hearts Should Be Free, such as the Blog-s-Thon to spread awareness, and the Anti-Slavery Garage Sale, and visiting the other giveaways where you will have a chance to learn about different aspects of modern slavery.   To learn more about what you can do to fight modern slavery, click here.





CONNECT WITH THE SPONSORS

You can visit Melissa of  on her facebook page, blog, pinterest page, and of course, at her shop, The Tiny Bee.
You can visit me here, but also at my other  blog, scribbleprints.com, and at my shop www.zazzle.com/scribbleprints


GIVEAWAY DETAILS
Thanks so much to Melissa of  The Tiny Bee for donating a sweet set of Heart Push Pins for me to give away on Hearts Should Be Free. I'm also including a set of 10 Lady Red heart stickers and 10 heart Valentines from my Scribbleprints shop (they are made from Zazzle "business cards" so, alas, only usually come in sets of 100.


To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  You must be 18 to enter.  Entries accepted through Jan 29.  Winner will be chosen and announced here January 30.  Full entry rules are listed at the link on the bottom of the Rafflecopter form.


NOTE TO THOSE OUTSIDE THE US
This giveaway is only open in the United States, Canada (except Quebec), The United Kingdom, and the following areas of Australia  (QLD, NT, TAS, and VIC only).   I would love to make my giveaways open in more places, but it's hard to find info on where giveaways are legal and what laws and special requirements every country has.  If you would like to help me find more info about giveaway laws in your country, e-mail me at ecarian@yahoo.com.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Melissa sent me a set of push pins (totally unexpectedly...I didn't ask her to, but I am going to enjoy them). Other than that I have not been compensated for this post.

Welcome to Hearts Should Be Free - 2014!

Did you know that there are as many as 27 million people in slavery today?     I once thought that slavery ended after the Civil War brought emancipation, but I now know that people are still kept illegally enslaved by force, fraud and coercion throughout the world, and even here in the United States.

Heart's Should Be Free is an event I first started in January 2012 using giveaways to spread awareness about this modern scourge, because people can't change something they don't know exists.

Now, after a long haitus and a lot of work, Hearts Should Be Free is HERE!

The first giveaways open today, and more will be added weekly through Feb 15. There are also be some new ways that you can participate this year, starting next week,  including a blog-o-thon and online garage sale to raise money for charities that work  to end slavery and help it's victims heal.  To keep up with when each giveaway and event goes live, you can follow the Hearts Should Be Free Facebook Page.





Abolitionist Events!






1/22 - 2/22 Blog-o-Thon
Bloggers, please join us in raising your voice and using your blogging talents to raise awareness of modern slavery!  You can find info and resources to help you here, and you can  link up your posts here.






1/22 - 2/22 Online Garage Sale

Are you needing to clear some clutter?  Have some Christmas presents you'ld like to "re-gift?"  Are you crafty?  Please consider listing an item for charity in our Online Garage Sale.   Click here to shop items people have listed or add your own item!







ENDED GIVEAWAYS & WINNERS
All giveaways are now ended.



 Piroska Blanchette won
$25 to Spend at Shops Which Donate 100%
of their profits to help victims of slavery.



   Ashley Renee won
 Earrings and Bracelet from Zen Custom Jewelry



Tennille Fraser Stuff won
a soap sampler from 27 Bath and Body




Helen Bush won
A Necklace from UNBOUND Style
Earrings from Zen Custom Jewelry
 and Cards by Scribbleprints





Clair won 
A World Love Poster 
From Poppy and Pinecone
See Post Here






Rhonda Greig won
the Ombre Necklace giveaway From UNBOUD Style!
See Post Here
(Ended Jan 29)




Lalaine Hagler won
the Hearts Collection from The Tiny Bee and Scribbleprints
See Post Here
(Ended Jan 29)






Volunteers Needed!

Do you care about the issues of slavery?  Want to help with the even this Jan/Feb?     Check out the ways you can help below!


Share About This Event on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc.
Post The "Hearts Should Be Free" Event Button on Your Sidebar
You can find the blog button code below.  (I plan to give extra entries for this in most of the giveaways!)

(More Sizes Here)


  
Help Me Bring These Giveaways To More Places
Since slavery is a world wide problem, I would like to open this even up to as many countries as possible.  But I am simply not able to research giveaway laws in every country  If you are from another country and would like to be able to participate in our giveaways, I could use your help researching the laws about giveaways where you live.  E-mail me at ecarian@yahoo.com with HSBF if you are interested in helping with this.  
Translation and Research Help I am working on compiling a list of websites about modern slavery in as many languages as possible.  If you speak English and another language, I could use help finding websites and online articles about slavery in your language, and I also need help translating a couple sentences to introduce these websites.   E-mail me at ecarian@yahoo.com  if you are interested in helping with this.  
Help for Next Year  If you think you might want to help out next year by providing an item for an awareness giveaway, contributing a few dollars for a charitable giveaway, translation help, writing an article, or being a co-host, please let me know.  You can e-mail me at ecarian@yahoo.com.  You can also keep updated on plans through the Hearts Should Be Free facebook page.  





Information about the number of slaves was found in the Trafficking and Person's Report put out by the US State Department.

Thanks to Andrea Renee for her creative commons photo which was used to make the background for the button for this event.