The Current

Spring is coming here in Washington, DC, and it is a sight to behold.  The cherry blossoms are about to bloom, my choir at St. Peters Church is working overtime on music for Lent and Easter services, and my high-school-age daughters are getting ready for their long spring break.   

It also means IJM’s Global Prayer Gathering—April 13-15—is just around the corner.  Our Field Office Directors from around the world will join us here in DC to update everyone on ways to pray for our work in the field. The Global Prayer Gathering (GPG) has grown every year, and this year, we’ve reached capacity at nearly 1,000 people who will join us for three days of prayer for the work of rescue of children, men and women.

After the prayers and worship are over, however, my team’s work is just beginning!  For the past four years, IJM’s Justice Campaigns has sponsored a half-day Advocacy Workshop, followed by a day of lobbying up on Capitol Hill for friends of IJM who want to talk to their elected representatives about slavery and trafficking. 

This year, we hope to take 150 people to the halls of Congress—even though the GPG is sold out, you can still join us for the Advocacy Workshop and Lobby Day!

We need our friends to talk to Congress more than ever.  In my 30 years as a human rights activist, I’ve never seen such a sour mood on Capitol Hill, or the political parties less inclined to work together.  Fortunately, the issue of combatting slavery is one where, in the past, Members of Congress have reached across party lines to enact good legislation and support meaningful assistance programs for victims of slavery at home and abroad.  But they need to hear from people in their own states and districts that this is a priority for their constituents—and our annual Advocacy Workshop is an opportunity to learn how to do just that.

I have important relationships in Congress that came about because IJM volunteers developed relationships with those aides from their states by attending Advocacy Training and Lobby Day.  They kept in touch with those aides following their meetings.  They collected postcards from their states – sometimes in the thousands – which I delivered to their Senators’ offices.  And those contacts from folks back home have paved the way for me to go back to those offices and secure their help on important issues in the fight to end modern-day slavery.

For me, IJM’s Advocacy Workshop and Lobby Day is one of the best things about Spring.  The joy, support , and optimism of IJM’s friends around the U.S. who work with us to make Congress more passionate about ending slavery makes me more passionate, too!  It is the highlight of the year, and we hope to see you there!

Register today!

Holly Burkhalter is the Vice President of Government Relations at International Justice Mission. IJM's 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.