Hey guys! It's me again. Lovely picture above courtesy of Chris Porto Photography!

You may remember me as your old colleague from work, or from college, or graduate school. I might be the person that makes your latte in the morning. I might have been the person who whiteboarded for your meetings several years ago. But you may or may not know that I currently work at A 2nd Cup, Houston's first nonprofit coffee shop, working to end human trafficking in Houston.

Human trafficking is the third most profitable crime in the world, with annual profits up to $36 billion (UNODC). There are estimated to be 20.9 million victims of human trafficking on this planet. 75% of victims are women and girls (Polaris). Why does this continue to happen? Why is slavery, though imagined long gone after the Civil War, still stealing the dignity of human persons across the globe?

"We have abolished the slave. The master remains." - Wendell Phillips

What can you do to end human trafficking?

There are so many ways that you, one person, can get involved to end trafficking. You can:

• Give your time to an organization as a volunteer to help spread the message
• Buy your coffee from A 2nd Cup (really, you didn't see that coming?) because we all know you're drinking it anyway
• Tell your friends about human trafficking so they are aware
• Spend your money with companies that employ survivors (Freeset, Sudara, She Has Hope... there are so many!)
• Give money to worthy nonprofits... here comes the pitch!