Love. Care. Tenderness. Support. These are all character qualities that are essential to the Defenders. These qualities in my mind all describe one important value of the Defenders: accountability. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, accountability means “an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.” I always grew up with the term “brother’s […]
Take Action: The Power of Renting Lacy
In September of 2012, I found myself reading Renting Lacy. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. Despite the warning at the beginning of the book telling me that it has very tough content, I thought I could handle it. I thought to myself, I can do this. This will be a one-sitting […]
Take Action: The Power of Social Media
Social Media has grown substantially in the past few years. Facebook now has over 1 billion users. Many people have over 1,000 connections on Facebook. Twitter is rapidly increasing its user base; celebrities, politicians, and even the pope himself are using Twitter to get their message out. All around the globe, Social Media is being […]
Eradicating the Commercial Sex Elephant in the Room
Guest Blog Post by Dale Rylander (Defenders Captain) When I try to get my head around the scope and complexity of the commercial sex issue I feel like a blind man encountering an elephant (the leg is a tree, the tail is a rope, the trunk is a snake, the ear is a fan and […]
“Concert for the Innocent” – Vancouver, WA
Announcing the “Concert for the Innocent” a benefit/awareness concert supporting victims of child trafficking The Defenders USA and Shared Hope will be hosting a free concert with local Vancouver and Portland bands to raise awareness about the issue of ending demand for domestic minor sex trafficking. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates […]