Julia Ormond’s Autographed Heels To Be Auctioned July 9th- 16th to Raise Money For The WellHouse

Emmy-winning actress Julia Ormond has donated an autographed pair of black heels, to Shoe Revolt for auction to help raise funds for The WellHouse that fights against the human trafficking industry in Alabama. The shoes will be up for bid on July 9th thru the 16th on Ebay.

The stunning British actress, known for her stellar performances in films such as Legends of the Fall and HBO’s Temple Grandin, is one of dozens of celebrities who have taken the shoes off their feet to support this fundraising auction for Shoe Revolt, joining in the fight to end human trafficking.

This is hardly Ormond’s first contribution to the struggle to end the exploitation of the world’s most vulnerable populations; she has spent years supporting causes such as disaster relief and child poverty. In 2005, she was named a United Nations ambassador against human trafficking, and she is an advocate for Transatlantic Partners Against AIDS. She is also a founding co-chairman of FilmAid International. Shoe Revolt is proud to be her next good cause.

Ateba Crocker founded Shoe Revolt, a registered 501(c) (3) charitable organization, in an effort to help stomp out the plague of sexual slavery in the United States by partnering with programs like The WellHouse.  The WellHouse is the first program in Alabama to assist survivors of commercial sexual exploitation twenty-four hours a day. Tajuan Lewis is the Executive Director.

To learn more about The WellHouse, visit http://www.the-wellhouse.org. For more information on Shoe Revolt visit http://www.shoerevevolt.org.

Auction is to go live at 1:15pm PST on July 9th, 2012. Check twitter/@shoerevolt for your auction link

Ateba Crocker

CEO

Shoe Revolt

Beaverton, OR

971 217 1822

Bringing Research to Bear on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors (a.k.a. "child sex trafficking")

Reblogged from Social Media Collective:

I believe that technology can be leveraged to empower people in amazing ways, but I also recognize that it can also be used in deeply disturbing ways. All too often, when we as a society see technology being used in horrible ways, we want to blame and ban the technology. As a researcher invested in leveraging the visibility of ugliness to make serious cultural change, my role is to step back and see if we can understand better what's going on in order to more significantly impact the issue at hand.

Read more… 696 more words

A must read for anyone interested in technology and revolting against human trafficking.

A Picture says a Thousand Words: sending the right message about the realities of abuse through our images

Reblogged from Voices Against Violence Project:

• 
• 

By Becky Owens Bullard

The power of an image is immeasurable, especially when it comes to promoting awareness of an issue that people don’t exactly understand.  When we want every day citizens to engage in an issue they’d rather pretend doesn't exist, we try to pique their interest by providing a photograph or video that they can associate with the issue – an image that will be burnt in their memory and make the issue real for them.

Read more… 1,034 more words

Upcoming Giveaways

This Monday, May 21st, starts Shoe Revolt’s next Facebook contest. Meghan Cleary author of Shoe Are You? donated a signed copy of her book for us to giveaway!!

Shoe are You? is the only book that gives you advice for your life, your wardrobe and career — all based on your footwear. This book is where the well-known pop culture term Shoe are You? (C) (R) came from. This book is full of advice, tips and tricks for any woman who wants to delve deep into her sole. If you are a stiletto girl, ballet flat girl, cowboy boot girl or even a barefoot girl, you will find out what your shoes say about you and understand your shoe personality.

Also, if you missed  your chance to win a signed Kelly Clarkson CD the first time around, we will be giving away another signed Kelly Clarkson CD starting May 28th.
Stay tuned and thank you for supporting Shoe Revolt and spreading awareness about domestic human trafficking.

Sex Trafficking and Stereotypes

Ateba, founder and CEO of Shoe Revolt, speaks candidly about prostitution and the stereotypes affecting black women.

By Ateba Crocker, survivor of prostitution via Trafficking Jamming
May 9, 2012

I recently went to Las Vegas for a business conference. As I walked through the prestigious casino, I quickly felt lustful eyes on me, a feeling that I once felt 20 years ago as a prostitute. I thought to myself, How can I feel this way? I’m dressed up in a conservative manner. I’m educated with a graduate degree and years of corporate experience and now I’m a CEO. Knowing my truth, I asked a young man about the lustful stares. He explained to me that because I’m black and walking through the casino, I’m thought to be a prostitute. He continued but his words were drowned out by my father’s voice spoken over me when I was young, “You look like a prostitute.”

The following week I went out to a movie and as I waited for my movie to start, I sat at the bar deciding what to get from the happy hour menu. I asked two white men next to me what was good on the menu.

We had small talk and then one man said to me, “What’s your deal?”

I said, “Huh?”

He said, “What’s your angle? Why are you in this part of town?” He giggled with his partner and then said, “My partner wants you to suck his dick.”

I said, “I’m not a prostitute.”

He said, “Well I thought you were since you were in this part of town.”

I took note of the area that I was in. It was a predominantly white neighborhood, just like where the prestigious hotel and casino had been. All I could hear this time louder were the words from my father, “You look like a prostitute.” My dad’s words made me question my identity as a little black girl and now these two situations made me question it again. In my mind, I held stereotypes about the little white girls living their childhoods as princesses, playing tea party 7 days a week, since for me it was a different reality. It wasn’t until Bill Cosby’s TV show aired in 1984 that I saw another view – I never saw Bill Cosby abuse his on-screen daughter Vanessa or call her a prostitute. He was a black man that cherished his wife and loved his family, especially his daughters. No matter how beautiful the image was that Bill Cosby showed every Thursday night, that was neither my reality nor many other little black girls’ realities either.

A false stereotype of black woman being devalued continues to linger still today that attaches a for sale sign to our backs. A hidden tragedy of stereotypes and perceptions traces back to slavery when black women were considered property and because of it were legally raped. I don’t blame my father, in general people, make decisions based on learned behavior or what is perceived from the past to be true about themselves and others, and in turn reflect their belief on to their children and society–feeding racism and prostitution in America today.

Find more survivors’ stories here.

Spring Cleaning

          Fresh air flowing, sunshine glowing, and birds singing glorious songs announce, in a harmonious rhythm, that spring has finally sprung! This means it’s time to come out of your winter hibernation, ditch the old dirty snow boots, and start shopping the spring seasons must-have shoe apparel.  You indulge yourself with sandals, wedges, and espadrilles until your closet resembles the stock room of Macy’s.

Sooner or later, you have too many shoes for just one pair of feet, and buyer’s remorse is keeping you up at night. These are signs you, my dear, have caught Spring fever.  I’m afraid there is only one cure to the retched Spring fever, which is spring-cleaning.  It’s time to clean out your closet and donate your beloved shoes to Shoe Revolt to spread your fashion flair and, more importantly, help others severely in need.

Shoe Revolt is a non-profit organization that resells previously loved shoes to fund human trafficking victim programs across the United States. In the United States alone, commercial sex trafficking is a billion dollar industry, and just as the fashion industry does every spring, it continues to thrive.  Shoe Revolt fights this evil injustice with the good of fashion, shoes specifically.

Those entrapped in sex trafficking rings need rescuing followed by intensive therapy, medical care, education, job skills, nutritious food, and trauma counseling.  These facilities are imperative to a victim’s recovery; Shoe Revolt needs your help and fashionable footwear to revitalize the lives tarnished by domestic human trafficking.

Clean out your closet and donate your shoes to Shoe Revolt!

- Colleen Geraghty, Social Media Director/ Shoeista

The SUMMIT SCANDAL

Fernando Llano | AP

This week the media is abuzz with talk of sex tourism. Specifically, allegations that about twenty Secret Servicemen and military personal brought prostitutes to their hotel last Wednesday while preparing for the Summit of the Americas in Colombia. This apt-named “Summit Scandal” is scandalous not just because of the potential security threat this offered President Barak Obama, but also because of the light and publicity it sheds on sex tourism in Latin America.

While sex tourism and sex trafficking may not be one in the same, they are certainly interrelated issues that have serious consequences for hundreds of thousands of women and children worldwide. Sex tourism is where men (primarily) travel to countries with weak economic structures and high rates of exploitation of women and children for the purpose of sex. Many of the women and children purchased during sex tourism are trafficked and forced into prostitution.

Trafficking victims and prostitutes generally come from similar backgrounds. They are often impoverished or homeless with little opportunity for other work, come from areas of conflict, or have family histories of sexual abuse and violence. Children entrapped in the sex tourism industry are particularly of concern because they are most easily influenced and taken advantage of and are left with some of the most damaging scars.

The Summit Scandal reminds us that the insatiable demand for illicit sex has profound consequences. It is important for us to recognize the United States’ role in perpetuating the enslavement of women and children around the world. We are not just innocent bystanders, paternalistically trying to police trafficking with laws and codes. We are active players in the game. While the USSS is facing repercussions for their actions in Colombia, this is but one sex tourism incident of thousands each year.

With the awareness this raises about sex tourism, each person must revolt. Educate yourself, advocate online through sites like Change.org, and purchase your shoes from Shoe Revolt to support organizations helping trafficking victims. And share with us your thoughts on how to get more involved!

– Guest Post by Alison Hanson, Sustainability Manager at Handmade Expressions