After witnessing human trafficking while studying abroad in India, two TCU students have launched a chapter of an international organization that combats the practice.
Junior Madelyn Carter and senior Madeline Bailey said their experiences inspired them to revamp TCU’s anti-human trafficking organization.
Carter and Bailey, along with senior Courtney Cochran, are co-presidents of TCU’s International Justice Mission (IJM) chapter. They started the organization last fall.
IJM is an international group of lawyers, investigators, social workers and other professionals dedicated to ending human slavery, sex trafficking and sexual violence.
So far, the organization has rescued more than 25,000 people from violence and oppression across the globe, according to the group’s website.
IJM has a presence on many college campuses, and Carter said it was the perfect organization to bring to TCU.
“We brainstormed with one of our professors from the trip about how we could make a difference in human trafficking in the Fort Worth community,” Carter said. “IJM seemed like a great place to start.”
The TCU chapter held its first meeting of the semester last week at Carter’s house.
At the meeting, group members discussed plans for the semester and introduced the “hype team” — students in charge of attending events and spreading the word about IJM.
Carter said the TCU chapter focused on fundraising last semester. The group hosted events and raised $13,000 for local nonprofits, such as The Net. The events included a screening of “Nefarious” and a pancake drive followed by a fast.
“Students donated the money they normally would have spent on food that day to the nonprofits we were working with, and it was incredible,” Carter said.
Bailey said this semester the group is focused on increasing student awareness of the reality of human trafficking in the DFW area.
“This area is actually a huge area for human trafficking because there’s both north-south and east-west highways as well as an airport,” she said.
The organization plans on participating in the CowTown Marathon later this month to fundraise. IJM will also hold another screening of “Nefarious.”
To get involved, visit the IJM Facebook page.
