Marisol Nichols is fighting to eradicate child trafficking and human slavery…
The 40-year-old part-Spanish/part-Mexican actress recently lent her support to Everyone’s Kids, Everyone Gives’ National Giving Day on Tuesday, September 16.
The campaign, hosted on crowdfunding site Razoo and featuring individual donors, fundraisers and more than 100 nonprofit organizations from all over the country, was seeking to raise $1 million during the special day of giving.
Nichols, whose philanthropic efforts on behalf of the fight have included multiple trips to Capitol Hill to help further anti-trafficking legislation, says its time to stop child trafficking, including sex trafficking, and human slavery.
“Everyone is born free and equal. We believe slavery was abolished with Abraham Lincoln; unfortunately human slavery is alive and well,” says Nichols, who first became involved with the issue through her mother-in-law Mary Shuttleworth’s organization, Youth for Human Rights International.
Nichols is chair of the advisory board for YHRI, which educates youth around the world about basic human rights, specifically the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In the U.S. alone, EKEG estimates 100,000 children are the victims of domestic trafficking each year, the equivalent of nearly 274 children per day.
Other supporters of the National Giving Day are Cindy McCain, musician Amanda Palmer, MTV Act, the Knight Foundation, Getty Images and Wondros.
“People aren’t aware of it and they think it only happens in Thailand, Africa or the Philippines but that’s not all, it happens here in America,” says Nichols. “The reason [human trafficking] is able to flourish so much is because no one knows about it, it’s kept in secret. … It is girls who are walking to school or who are taken at a mall, it’s girls being targeted and it’s everywhere, [human trafficking] knows no boundaries. In a normal world you would have people outraged and protesting in the streets if they knew [of the issue].”
A new public service announcement gives information on the issue as well as the number for the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline.
Coupled with the fundraiser, donors will be linked to a national public service announcement that will bring awareness to the National Human Trafficking hotline (888-373-7888), where people can call with anonymous crime tips or if they need help. Along with the fundraiser and PSA, Clear Channel Outdoor is participating in the campaign with a digital billboard push across 30 U.S. cities.
All proceeds from National Giving Day will be split between all of the participating nonprofit organizations.