By “Doc” from
Bikers Against Trafficking
I was nine years old, and my father was an inmate at Jackson State Penitentiary in Jackson, Michigan. We were living on State assistance in Michigan and my three brothers, and I were not doing well. Our mom was trying the best she could to take care of us, but she had four boys aged 13, 9, 7 and 1 and it was all she could do to keep up. We survived on government cheese, bread, peanut butter and the good will of a local church.
BUT Christmas was coming, and no one was excited at my home. Christmas was a time to remember how poor we were. How no one valued us, not many cared about us, and it was just another “bad” day. We saw all the festive decorations and cool stories at church and in the commercials but the reality of the Holiday’s for us was the exact opposite. It was just a reminder of how crappy life was and how there did not seem to be any hope. Yet, in the midst of our despair a church brought us Christmas presents and we were excited beyond belief, for at least a moment. We had the thought that perhaps someone did care, perhaps we did have value. They left the box and then when we opened it up my heart sank to oblivion. The church had brought us cheap plastic models with no paint or glue. They were not wrapped, just stuck in a box and I knew…this was not a gift of hope but of pity, of leftovers…
At Bikers Against Trafficking, we do Christmas a little bit differently. Starting back in the Fall my lovely bride, Rainey, starts to orchestrate a movement that will impact those kids and young adults we work with on Christmas day. She gets her team (a small handful along with her trusty elves Babs and Warrior) to start to make a list, post it, collect items, raise money and then when the gifts come in…they are hand selected, reviewed and they have to pass an initial inspection. Then we find a way to get a Christmas list from each kid and young adult and gifts are wrapped, labels put on and then personal gifts are placed in a huge gift bag (colorfully designed) and a few necessities like coats, toiletries, etc.… are included and then we drive them to drop off points where our host families gather the gifts and put them under the Christmas tree without any kid or young adult knowing it was us that did it.
All in all, over 2000 presents are hand wrapped and over 300 kids will wake up on Christmas morning excited that someone thought of them. That they have value and that there is always hope. It is a small Christmas miracle but one that is done by very few people but man oh man…what a difference it makes in the life of those who get to tear open those gifts. In the battle against human sex trafficking those who have their innocence stolen often struggle with self-esteem and hope. They are used to people looking down on them and using them or wanting to do something nice for them so that they can get a photo opportunity or use it to raise money.
We want each person to just feel valued and to know that someone cares.
The battle to eliminate and eradicate human sex trafficking is a daily thing and from time to time we get to make a kid smile…and in that moment…it feels really great. Thank-you from the bottoms of our heart and if you want to donate…there is still time to help us as we work towards Easter. Just go to BikersAgainstTrafficking and click the PayPal donate button.
You can mail a check to 1349 S. International Parkway, Suite 2421, Lake Mary, FL 32746.
We are humbly His,
Bikers Against Trafficking!
TOGETHER we really can make a difference!
