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"Today is Shine A Light on Slavery Day, which was created by the END IT Movement as a way to raise awareness for the 27 million people who are trapped in slavery all across the world. Most people think slavery ended in America with the Civil War, however, it still exists, even in the United States. Types of slavery can include bonded labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. Modern day slavery victims include men, women, boys, and girls of all ages and ethnicities in ways that some of us would never even imagine. The END IT Movement encourages people all across the world to raise awareness for slavery by marking their hands with a red X on February 25th and sharing it on social media. \n\nAccording to their website, END IT is a coalition of global organizations to fight for freedom on the ground and in the streets, manning hotlines, prosecuting traffickers, and passing laws. Each of their coalition partners is focused on a different step of the journey toward freedom. \u201CAwareness is really doing the work, we have to let people know that slavery still does exist even though it\u2019s 2016, but, we don\u2019t want it to stop there, awareness is what we hope will lead to action. We ask everyone to raise their voice to help us shine a light on slavery and end it together,\u201D Jenni Brown, END IT\u2019s campaign director tells Teen Vogue.\n\nOne big supporter of the END IT Movement is Australian actor, Nate Buzolic, who has appeared in The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. He first heard about END IT at a conference when it launched in 2013, where thousands of college students banded together to raise $3.3 million for END IT. Nate tells Teen Vogue, it inspired him to join the movement too. Since then Nate has been involved with the International Justice Mission (IJM), an organization that focuses on doing groundwork where they rescue people who are enslaved and help to prosecute victim\u2019s traffickers. Nate is excited to be able to \u201Cteam up with IJM and get more involved to help tackle slavery. If I can help change the world for even one person [affected by slavery] that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about.\u201D\n\nLoadingView on Instagram\n\nHowever, you don\u2019t have to be on TV to show your support for the END IT Movement. Two teenage sisters, Frankye and Tommye Koontz, are just a few of the many people who have taken it upon themselves to share the END IT Movement in their community. Frankye and Tommye first heard about the movement at a Christian Conference in Atlanta called Passion. Since then, these two sisters and their friends have helped lead the way for awareness in their small community outside of Kansas City, Missouri. \u201CNo one should ever be sold or have poverty determine their basic human rights, it is our job to be these people\u2019s voices and speak out on their behalf when they are unable to do so themselves,\u201D Frankye tells Teen Vogue. \u201CWe want to get people talking about the movement and spark conversations to raise awareness when someone asks about the red X on our hands.\u201D\n\nLoadingView on Instagram\n\nLoadingView on Instagram\n\nNothing you contribute is too small, whether you are helping to support by giving donations or just raising awareness through social media in your own community like Frankye and Tommye, everything  helps. Other ways to take action include writing to your local legislators to support the End Modern Slavery Initiative in Congress, shopping END IT Movement apparel and sparking conversations, or giving to the cause by donating money to support the work of END IT Movement\u2019s Coalition partners. \u201CEND IT encourages creativity; we want people to help shine a light on slavery in their own way,\u201D Jenni says. \u201CAwareness alone cannot end slavery, but without awareness, slavery will never end.\u201D Even one person trapped by slavery is one too many.\n\nShare your posts and raise awareness by using #ENDIT and #ENDITMOVEMENT, and follow the movement on their Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts. \n\nCheck out Teen Vogue\u2019s February issue cover star, Zo\u00EB Kravitz.\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.teenvogue.com/story/end-it-movement-shine-light-on-slavery-day>