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Stop Child Trafficking Now, a two-year-old organization founded in New York City, will hold a fundraising walk starting at 10 a.m. today at the west end of Crissy Field. This is the Bay Area's first effort for the organization and hundreds are expected to participate, said Lisa Hudson, the Bay Area coordinator and a Walnut Creek physician.
By Robert Salonga
WALNUT CREEK -- A national campaign against child sex trafficking comes to the Bay Area this weekend with a march across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Stop Child Trafficking Now, a two-year-old organization founded in New York City, will hold a fundraising walk starting at 10 a.m. today at the west end of Crissy Field. This is the Bay Area's first effort for the organization and hundreds are expected to participate, said Lisa Hudson, the Bay Area coordinator and a Walnut Creek physician.
Forty-one cities will host similar events -- the largest in New York City, with others scheduled in Washington, D.C., and Chicago -- and through donors and sponsorships, the organization hopes to raise a $1 million to fund investigations into child trafficking throughout the United States.
Hudson said the money raised will equip and support four-man teams composed of former FBI agents, Navy SEALs, and other retired investigators who will document and work in tandem with authorities to expose domestic and international child trafficking rings.
Hudson said $1 million will fund 50 teams for one year. "They're trying to wrap up airtight cases," she said.
According to figures from the U.S. Department of Justice cited by the group, 300,000 children in the United States are at risk for commercial sexual exploitation each year.TO HELP
Donations to Stop Child Trafficking Now can be made by logging on to sctnow.donordrive.com
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