Thank You! Thank You!! Thank You!!!
The center will be used to hold after-school activities for students, to build relationships with local families enabling SOLD to be a resource for them, to house long-term volunteers, and serve as our Thai headquarters by including staff offices.
Your generosity has made this possible. We thank you!
To learn more visit The SOLD Project or view the Matching Grant announcement.
One of the reasons sexual exploitation of children flourishes in the open is due to a lack of legal enforcement of this crime. Many countries, Thailand included, have yet to create, implement and enforce laws that protect children from sex predators. A recent article published by Time, “A Move to Register Sex Offenders Globally,” spoke to this concern.
In the article, author Deena Guzder advocates supporting a bill on the House floor, H.R. 1623, also known as “International Megan’s Law.” If passed, H.R. 1623 will establish communication between international governments and legal bodies to ensure known sex offenders do not harm children overseas. According to Bill sponsor, N.J. Representative, Chris Smith, H.R. 1623 will “alert officials abroad when U.S. sex offenders intend to travel and would encourage other countries to keep sex offender lists and notify American officials about offenders’ U.S. travel plans.”
The passing of H.R. 1623 is a key step to establishing a force-able zero-tolerance law against the sexual exploitation of children worldwide. Says Smith, “The buyers of commercial sex must be sensitized to the harm they cause women and girls and to the fact their money fuels modern-day slavery.”
H.R. 1623, “International Megan’s Law,” is set to appear before the House floor (again) this month, October 2009. We, SOLD Interns, are asking you to get involved. Two simple steps is all it takes to express your desire to see children protected around the world and perpetrators of child abuse brought to justice.
We are asking you to contact your House Representative and encourage them to support the passing of H.R. 1623.
Below is a template you can use via email or voicemail:
Dear Representative (Name):
As a constituent in the state of (your state), I am very concerned about the
sexual exploitation of children globally at the hands of known sex offenders. I strongly encourage you to pass H.R. 1623, “International Megan’s Law,” which will create an international sex offender list and foster international communication and cooperation in preventing known sex offenders from harming children overseas.
Thank You,
(your name)
(your city, state)
~Susan Tripi DeLano
Hello Everyone,
Great news from The SOLD Project! In response to a recent update a very GENEROUS donor fronted $10,000 for a matching grant challenge! With a deadline of October 13th, we must act quickly.
Please read the announcement below, "Christmas in October" and consider what amount you will contribute today. Every little bit helps. Remember, with a matching grant your gift is equaled dollar for dollar, doubling the impact.
$5.00 becomes $10.00
$15.00 becomes $30.00
$30.00 becomes $60.00
$50.00 becomes $100.00
And on and on… before you know it hundreds of gifts of $5.00, $10.00, and $20.00 become a $10,000 reality! Pooling our resources will make a HUGE difference for the expansion of The SOLD Project’s office/drop-in center and programs in Thailand. And that means lots of precious children rescued from a life of forced prostitution.
To get this ball rolling, my husband and I are going to donate $300.00.
$300 + $300 = $600
Only $9,400 to go...We can do this!!
~Susan Tripi DeLano
CHRISTMAS IN OCTOBER
Greetings!
I sit down to write this letter with much excitement. The SOLD Project has been dreaming up a storm and we are excited to share with you (below) some of the projects we have ahead as we continue to ask the question... 'how do we stop child prostitution before it begins?' You can be part of these dreams by helping us fulfill our Christmas in October wish list!
One of our main goals in developing The SOLD Project: Prevention Program is that it become completely Thai run and self sustaining. The first thing on our agenda was to hire Thai staff. Well, not only did we find someone to fill the role of Program Manager, but we found THE PERFECT person! Blah Chermui. Our next goal is to establish ourselves as a non profit organization in Thailand: unfortunately this comes with a large price tag (see below).
The last update on SOLD is that we are beginning to raise funds to build an office/drop-in center. The building would be used for the following: 1) As a drop-in center for students to visit after school for help with homework, English camps, and to hang out with SOLD staff and volunteers 2) SOLD Project Offices and 3) Long Term Volunteer housing. Essentially, this building will further our efforts of relationship building and mentorship for our scholarship students and will allow our staff to easily host events for students in the afternoons/weekends. The estimated cost is $10,000 and could be done by January if the funds are raised quickly.
Our staff, volunteers, board and advisors continue to dream and to not let the size of our dreams get in the way. We have so much to accomplish and at times feel the only thing getting in the way is finances. We are approaching the next stage and are in need of major funding in order to accomplish what needs to be done here. If any of you have relationships to foundations or other sources of funding... we could definitely use your help!
With much hope and appreciation,
Rachel Goble-Carey, Executive Director
and
Rachel Sparks-Graeser, Founder
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