Slavin's Fight For Freedom

RALEIGH, NC. - January 11 is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

It is an important day for Jaccob Slavin and his family.

In November, the Canes defenseman and his wife Kylie announced the launch of a partnership with the International Justice Mission (IJM) to combat the crimes of labor trafficking, sex trafficking, and the online sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines.

Aiming to raise $1M through their "Fight For Freedom" campaign in the form of a matching grant, the Slavins have created a season-long effort and will contribute up to $500,000 personally.

"We learned about IJM over the summertime and what they're fighting against in human trafficking and labor trafficking. As soon as we heard about them, we asked ourselves what we could do to use our platform in a bigger way than we have," Jaccob shared.

Learning about the IJM and their approach at a conference for professional Christian athletes, the Slavins felt compelled to take action.

"My wife has always had a heart toward helping women and children who have unfortunately been involved in human trafficking. When we heard about IJM and found out what they needed help with, our hearts were in unity," #74 continued.

Human trafficking is the fastest-growing illicit trade in the world, generating over $150 billion in profits every year.  1 in 4 victims of human trafficking are children.

"If we can raise a million dollars, that would be awesome. But what we really want to do is raise awareness of what's really going on. I think for a lot of people it can go two ways - you either decide that it doesn't exist and do nothing about it, or you have the ability to do something about it," Jaccob furthered. "For us, we really wanted to raise awareness to human trafficking, not just the sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines, but all human and labor trafficking that goes on around the world."

Per the IJM, nearly 50 million live in modern slavery today, and the organization partners with local justice systems around the world to build safe communities, where all are protected from violence and slavery.

It is estimated that 1.7 million children are exploited yearly in sex trafficking.

"One of the things that was crazy to learn for us is that with the online sexual exploitation of children, one of the largest consumers is people in the United States," Jaccob revealed as something that he wished people knew about the cause.

The Fight For Freedom campaign has already reached over $600,000 and with options to pledge as little as 74 cents per point Slavin produces this season, the $1M goal is within sight.

"The biggest thing that we've come to realize is that the resources, the money, and the platform that we have been given is a gift. We want to be good stewards, foundationally, and our hearts are behind it. It's a gift from God and he's given it to us to be a blessing towards other people."

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