The Current

Last week Thursday, September 8, hundreds of advocates around the country called their Senators as part of the National Call-in Day to Pass the TVPRA. Over 1300 calls have been logged by advocates from 47 states!

Constituents can call their Members of Congress about important issues like this any day (so if you haven’t called yet, you still can!). But a flood of calls on one day really helps draw attention to an issue. Thank you for helping us bring this issue to the forefront!

Calling a Member of Congress can be intimidating, particularly if you’ve never done it before. We asked you how it felt to make the call and were encouraged as many of you shared your positive experiences via email, Facebook, and Twitter—so encouraged, in fact, that we wanted to share some of your testimonial tweets:

@shall86, from Kentucky: Calling my senators #KY was amazing! I felt like I got 2 make a difference in lives so many. #prayingfortraffickvictims

@danielleh: How’d it feel calling? Love social media! @IJMHQ posted, I posted, several friends posted, their friends posted…#togetherseekingjustice

@andyjsears, from Oregon: I feel like I did something very small, but meaningful today.

@traviswirt, from West Virginia: Calling my Senators was quick, easy, and fun! More importantly, it was a small act with far reaching positive consequences.

@sheshallgofree, from California: I feel excited and anxious! And happy that I was able to take part :)

@meghanashlee, from Georgia: It went so well! Nervous at first, but the secretaries were so nice that they assuaged my fear! So glad to raise support #TVPRA

@mfurnas, from Ohio: Made three calls to Senators Brown and Portman and Rep Latourette to request passing of TVPRA 2011. Easy, quick and rewarding to speak up.

@kimmerida, from North Carolina: Calling my senators to ask them to support #TVPRA was easy, fast & fun; a simple act toward alleviating modern day slavery

This week, both the Senate and the House of Representatives are holding hearings on the TVPRA, a great sign that your elected officials are aware of how important this issue is to their constituents. If you made the call but haven’t logged it online yet, you can still do that on our website. Thanks again to everyone who participated!

Erica Boonstra is an organizer for Justice Campaigns and helps manage IJM's grassroots efforts around the country and abroad. Justice Campaigns mobilizes people around the country in support of U.S. policies that will lead to the abolition of human trafficking and modern-day slavery.