purchased

Time to run…

purchased — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 00:10:15 +0000

Indianapolis Indians Fundraiser Event!

purchased — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:21:33 +0000

Bring your friends and family to an afternoon at the ballpark and support Purchased! For every $10 ticket that is sold, $5 will be donated to Purchased. We would love for you to join us on April 21!

Click HERE to purchase tickets!

Use the code word “Purchased” when ordering.

Thank you…

purchased — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 02:36:09 +0000

Thank you so much to the many businesses, individuals and organizations who donated items to Illuminate’s silent auction. The money raised through the silent auction allows Purchased to continue to host education events and implement prevention curricula. Below is the list of businesses and organizations who donated items or gift certificates to the auction. Please frequent and support these businesses and tell them thank you on behalf of Purchased!

Rapha House www.raphahouse.org

Indianapolis Zoo www.indyzoo.com

Children’s Museum of Indianapolis www.childrensmuseum.org

A Couple Cooks by Alex and Sonja Overhiser http://www.acouplecooks.com

Walt Disney World https://disneyworld.disney.go.com

Liz Alig http://lizalig.com/

Tastefully Simple: Kathie Wilder www.tastefullysimple.com

Arbonne: Marcy Meador http://www.arbonne.com/

Chival Jewelry by Sarah Short http://www.etsy.com/people/Chival

Crackers Comedy Club www.crackerscomedy.com

Greek Isles Restaurant www.greekislandsrestaurant.com

Richmond Civic Hall http://civichall.com

Green Mountain Fair Trade Coffee http://www.greenmountaincoffee.com/

Mo’Joe’s Coffeehouse www.mojoecoffeehouse.com

Sun King Brewery http://sunkingbrewing.com/

Knits and Knots http://knitsandknotsweb.blogspot.com/

CGI Daughters http://www.cgidaughters.com/

Indianapolis Colts www.colts.com

Chicago Cubshttp://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/

AMC Theater www.amctheatres.com

3 Sisters Café http://www.3sisterscafein.com/

RCI www.rci.com

St. Louis Cardinals www.stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com

Half Baked Pottery www.halfbakedpottery.com

Royal Pin Leisure Centers www.royalpin.com

Gigi’s Cupcakes of Indianapolis www.gigiscupcakesusa.com

Petite Chou http://petitechoubistro.com/

Landmark Theaters www.landmarktheatres.com

Indiana Pacers www.nba.com/pacers

Blossom Baskets https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blossom-Baskets

Cincinnati Reds www.cincinnati.reds.mlb.com

Butler University www.butler.edu

Raindancer Studios http://www.raindancerstudios.com/

Join us for Illuminate!

purchased — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:34:19 +0000

Our second annual fundraising dinner, Illuminate, is less than two weeks away!

Join us March 9 for an evening of education and inspiration over dinner with silent auction to follow.

Hear about the ongoing work of Purchased as well as information regarding labor and sex trafficking within the United States from guest speaker, Deputy Marion County Prosecutor, Mary Hutchison. Mary has recently joined the Purchased Board of Directors and is a leading expert in the fight against trafficking in the United States.

We hope you will engage in our mission to empower communities to end modern day slavery by joining us for this special event!

Click here to register!

Illuminate Event Details

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Washington Park Community Life Center
10612 East Washington Street | Indianapolis, IN 46229

5:30 pm-Registration and silent auction open
6:30 pm-Dinner begins

Individual Ticket: $50

Three sponsorship levels:
Gold: $1500
Ad space on program, website, signage and table
Silver: $1000
Website, signage and table
Bronze: $500
Signage and table

The Lady in Red

purchased — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 23:49:27 +0000

The Lady in Red

The night was warm, well warm in comparison to winter in Indiana; in Mexico cold is a bit more relative. As I walked around briskly in my hooded sweatshirt I felt warm. For the women standing in little clothing waiting by a club I am guessing they did not have the same warmth I did. That night I was an observer. My eyes were more open than they usually are. I saw the bright lights that were shining from the signs of the bars. A large arch, what appeared to be a replica of the famous one you see in St. Louis, was welcoming people to Tijuana. I saw the hotel rooms for sell by the hour in pesos. There were many people walking the streets; some appeared to be shopping, others out for a night on the town at the local bars. I watched as the police grouped in the streets not getting involved with anything but asserting their presence. I saw many women much younger than myself dressed in lingerie in front of the clubs blaring dance music. Some of the women were texting on their phones while others were having a drink or a bite to eat. Some of the girls were standing motionless appearing as if they were trying to be invisible.

Then I saw her. I don’t know her name. She looked like she could be a sister of the cook at the orphanage I had just met. The cook at the orphanage was kind. She had a daughter and took care of many girls. She worked tirelessly with a presence of calmness and peace and this woman looked like she could display the same presence if given the opportunity. She was dressed in lingerie that was a bit more covering than the others. In my mind I remember her wearing something red; the memory has faded and I cannot see the color, but red seems to represent how she felt. I got the impression that she wished she was wearing my hoodie. She was standing by a brick wall with her eyes straight forward as a man walked up to her. You could tell she was nervous. Despite looking a bit older, she was not like the other women her age on the street. She still had light in her eyes, a light that could not manage to look at the man steadily approaching.

I only had a few seconds to look at her, the woman wearing red. I watched the tears fall down her face as the man took her by the hand to have his way with her. For a moment I could see her pain, her disgrace, and her shame. I walked on and others walked all around her in the busy area, but she was alone. She was alone despite the man having her by the hand.

That woman stays in my mind. She represents Human Trafficking for me. To me she was someone’s mom, someone’s daughter, or maybe even someone’s true love. I know that if she was free she would not be there. I struggle with what to do with that memory. I did not help her; I could not free her. I hope now that my eyes are a little more open to what I am able to do to help others with my life. I wish I could tell her the difference she has made in my life.

-Chelsea

Punjammies

purchased — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 02:51:10 +0000

Looking for a way you can make a difference in the world with your
financial power? Here’s another simple way you can make a conscience
choice and help out some very worthy people. Punjammies are pajamas
made by women who have been rescued from or kept from going into the
sex-slave industry. These women are trained to make the pajamas in a
safe work environment where they are cared for and paid a fair wage.
This is part of a larger organization called the International
Princess Project.
Sometimes modern day slavery can seem like too big of a task to
tackle. But remember, we each day we have a hundred small choices that
can make a small difference…even where we buy our pajamas. And
these small choices can add up to a big difference.

- scott

Illuminate 2013

purchased — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:40:10 +0000

You are cordially invited to attend our second annual Illuminate fundraising dinner on March 9, 2013.

Join us for an evening of education and inspiration over dinner with silent auction to follow.

We hope you will engage in our mission to empower communities to end modern day slavery by joining us for this special event!

Click here to register!

Illuminate Event Details

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Washington Park Community Life Center
10612 East Washington Street | Indianapolis, IN 46229

5:30 pm-Registration and silent auction open
6:30 pm-Dinner begins

Individual Ticket: $50

Three sponsorship levels:
Gold: $1500
Ad space on program, website, signage and table
Silver: $1000
Website, signage and table
Bronze: $500
Signage and table

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

purchased — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 13:50:36 +0000

January 11 is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. What can you do to engage in the abolition movement? Here are 11 suggestions on what you can do today to fight against modern day slavery.

1. Tell one person what you have learned about human trafficking today.

2. Put the Human Trafficking Hotline number in your phone and call it if you see something suspicious 1-888-3737-888

3. Read one article, blog post, or book today about modern day slavery

4. Pray for the victims of human trafficking all over the world, that they would be rescued.

5. Donate to Purchased (or another great abolitionist group!)

6. Pray for the survivors of human trafficking, that they would continue to heal.

7. Email Purchased today to schedule us to come talk to your group/church/business

8. Visit the websites of our partners and learn about the great work they are doing.

9. RSVP for our Volunteer Coffee today – come learn about how you can use your gifts and abilities within our organization

10. Create your own blog post, facebook post, or tweet about human trafficking

11. Get creative! How can you raise awareness about this issue with your coworkers, friends, and family? We would love to hear your ideas!

Volunteer Coffee

purchased — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:15:19 +0000

2013 Volunteer Coffee

Saturday, January 19 from 10-11am

Calvin Fletcher Coffee Shop
647 Virginia Avenue,
Indianapolis, IN 46203

Have you been wondering how you can use your
skills and talents to help end modern day slavery?
Do you want to get involved in the abolition movement,
but don’t know where to start?

We would love for you to join us for coffee and conversation on Saturday, January 19!

Purchased’s mission is to empower communities to
end modern day slavery. We are exited to continue our mission in 2013 and have a
growing number of opportunities for volunteers to get involved!

If you are interested in learning about these volunteer opportunities, we would love
for you to drop by on Jan 19 to sip on fair trade coffee and
chat about how you can join in the abolition movement with Purchased.

RSVP at volunteer@purchased.org

If you are unable to attend, but would like to
volunteer, please contact us at volunteer@purchased.org and we will be happy to
connect over email

Good vs. Bad

purchased — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 03:46:17 +0000

This past weekend I finally saw Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln”. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend making the time. The acting, writing, directing and cinematography are all so well done, you leave thinking you’ve somehow witnessed the real thing. One surprise of the movie, for me, was how it’s as much about the passing of the 13^th Amendment as it is about Lincoln himself. Most of the movie takes place around the debate and struggle for Lincoln’s party to get enough votes to pass the amendment to the constitution. It was remarkable to see how much debate, energy and, at times, conniving it took to get a group of people to allow our country to recognize other people as human.

The movie was a good reminder for me. Not only a reminder that convincing others to do what is right can be a difficult struggle, but also that sometimes good people don’t want to do the right thing. I have no doubt many of the people who were debating and arguing against ending slavery back in 1865 were actually good people…or at least had many good qualities. These were people with a passion and dedication to represent and lead their country. I’m sure most of them loved their families, were friendly with their neighbors and a good number of them probably loved God. It’s too easy to categorize others as “bad” or “hopeless” when they don’t share the same values we do. Yes, there are certainly injustices and bad decisions we as humans can act on or allow to continue. There are rights and wrongs and it’s our life’s job to grow and mature in this knowledge and help others do so along the way. But we also need to remember that God loves and has hopes for those perpetuating the injustices in our world and we are called to do the same. Our job is not to fix the world or right all the wrongs. Our job is to help bring forth the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth…however we can. That means working hard for good causes. But it also requires loving those who are causing the harm with the hope that God can change their heart.

Modern day slavery is disgusting. It’s relentless and has taken an unthinkable toll on countless people. We can’t allow it to go on and we must do everything we can to stand against it. But we must also remember the people on the other side of all this are God’s children too. The pimps were made in the image of God. The slave masters are as much loved by our Creator as we are. Those forcing others to work for little or no money are offered the same forgiveness Christ gave us. Are their actions deplorable? Should we do all we can to stop them? Most definitely. But we must also put an equal amount of energy into praying for and, in whatever way we can, loving them. We must remember that God’s heart is breaking for them as well as their victims. And we must remember that it was Christ’s love – given freely to us when we didn’t deserve it – that saved us from ourselves.

- scott