*** Please distribute this to your listservs!! Get everyone involved!!***

All photos were taken at the recent DC Stop Modern Slavery Walk. From top to bottom: Members of FTS Loyola Maryland college chapter (with FTS President Kevin Bales) gather at the walk; an FTS sign spreads the word about modern slavery; The FTS sign up booth; Loyola Maryland students sit on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. All photos courtesy of the FTS Loyola MD college chapter!

Hello Free the Slaves College Chapters!

Free the Slaves presents you with the Free a Village Challenge! This year, we ask that each college chapter aims to raise $5,000 to be sent to Free the Slaves' headquarters. Together, we hope to raise $55,281—the amount our research shows it takes to free a village and make it slavery-proof over three years! ("Free A Village, Build a Movement")

Invitations have gone out to invite you to our college chapter Google group. This group will allow us to communicate with each other about success stories as well as our current progress towards reaching our goals for the challenge. 

Below you will find a list of ideas to get you started.

Let us know you've joined us in the challenge by emailing laura.murphy@freetheslaves.net.

Thank you and as always, STAY MOTIVATED!

Take the Initiative

If you are just starting out or even well on your way to raking in thousands of dollars for a great cause here are some things you can do to raise awareness and money!

• Collaborate with other organizations on campus:
• You can contact a member of the Athletic Department, Student Government Association, similar clubs, Greek organizations, as well as religious organizations to co-sponsor events and sponsor their own fundraisers for FTS.
• Focus on supply chains:
• By educating others on the products we use that may be the result of slave labor, we can provide students with a tangible action to stop slavery in their daily lives.  Sell fair trade chocolates or other goods at a table on campus.
• Start a student brand of FTS on campus:
• Using the FTS logo is beneficial for promoting the organization. However, if each chapter tailors their products to be relevant to their college area and demographic, they can increase sales.  
• Begin an annual Freedom Week:
• Begin a tradition on campus by hosting a week of events to highlight the different aspects of Modern Day Slavery. Things that can be included are fundraisers, faculty panels, speakers, demonstrations, video viewings , and vigils.
• Use the holidays to your advantage:
• Around the holidays, people are usually in the spirit of giving and students are also more likely to support a cause if it's tied in to a seasonal event. Use this to your advantage by providing small or large items that people on campus would be likely to purchase.
• Examples: Raffle gift baskets for Christmas, sell candy grams for Valentine's Day, or plan a Mardi Gras Masquerade.
• STAY MOTIVATED!
• If your organization has had successful events, please share this with the other chapters. Also, if you have any photos from events, it would be great if you could post these items to the Google Group and on your Facebook page!

JUMP START YOUR CHALLENGE WITH THE SLAVERY FOOTPRINT
FREE THE SLAVES PARTNERS WITH MTVu
This year, Free the Slaves has been collaborating with MTVu on their Against Our Will Campaign. Part of that iniative is the Slavery Footprint App which helps you track how much of your consumption is laced with products made by slaves.  It's a fun, interactive way to think about how slavery affects all of our lives.  In your next meeting, your whole chapter can check out the app together.

What's even cooler is that there is a challenge to students and chapters at the end of the app.  Register your chapter's events and fundraisers with the Slavery Footprint and compete to win awesome prizes, including a trip to the MTVu Woodie Awards. Schools that collect the most points for fighting slavery will be eligible to win!  You're already working to fight modern slavery on your campus—why not compete to win prizes.  The Slavery Footprint App also suggests lots of exciting campus activities and fundraisers that can get you closer to your Free a Village goals!