Purchase your ticket online!

Time to support the fight against sexual slavery
and human trafficking.

The Somaly Mam Foundation and its partners have helped save over
6,000 women and girls from brothels in Southeast Asia,
and we need your help to continue our battle!

The Somaly Mam Foundation is a nonprofit charity committed to ending modern day slavery in North America and around the world. Founded by sexual slavery survivor Somaly Mam, the foundation works to eradicate human trafficking, liberate its victims, and empower survivors so they can create and sustain lives of dignity. The foundation supports survivor rescue, shelter and rehabilitation programs globally with a special focus on Southeast Asia, where the trafficking of women and girls, some as young as five, is a widespread practice. The Somaly Mam Foundation also runs awareness and advocacy campaigns in North American and around the world that shed light on the crime of human trafficking and focus on getting the public and governments involved in the fight to abolish modern day slavery.

We started our First C4C Event at Apotheke with 60 people– Our last event in January set a new record as we turned people away from the doors of The Box as capacity exceeded 300 patrons.

As momentum and awareness spreads around the Somaly Mam Foundation, the SMF Young Professionals are taking our coming event to the next level……the highest level actually…

We are taking the Party to the PENT HOUSE

of Jean Nouvel’s latest Architectural masterpiece.

Approximately 1,650 different windowpanes comprise the most highly engineered
and complex curtain wall ever constructed in New York City.

Open Bar all Night

Catering by La Esquina & Baked by Melissa

Live Music by the acoustic genius Adam Ezra Group

Unbelievable Guest DJ Cassie Stevens

Capoeira Performance by Nago

Gift Bags provided by  the Swarovski Crystallized store in Soho

The Lipstick Portraits by Celebrity Photographer Michael Angelo

Raffled Gifts from DVF, Alanna Bess Jewelry, Tiffany’s, Renzo Gracie, Bergdorf Goodman, Cara Landy, and countless others…

…and the Most SENSATIONAL 360 degree views in the most SPECTACULAR Pent House you have EVER seen…

So come mingle with NYC’s most amazing crowd of Young Professionals and
dance the night away in our Chelsea residential Pent House,
donated graciously for the evening by David Comfort and Cape Advisors.

Purchase your ticket online!

SMF Young Professionals NYC are looking for volunteers in the NYC area to help staff our May 26th Cocktails for a Cause event. Cocktails for a Cause aims to:

1) Raise funding for the Somaly Mam Foundation (SMF), a non-profit which is devoted to ending modern day slavery and rescuing and rehabilitating its victims. More on SMF at www.somaly.org.

2) Create awareness and methods to fight the $4 billion human trafficking industry.

3) Empower Women in the NYC area through Self Defense Courses and Educational Seminars.

Read more about the event here: http://c4c-may2010.eventbrite.com/

If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact csalasky@somaly.org

Each year the Foundation will award scholarships to survivors of sex trafficking. These funds, which are made available for a one-year period that begins on September 1 and ends on August 31, can be used for education, vocational training, advocacy programs, entrepreneurial enterprises, or other survivor-led initiatives or activities that increase the ability of a survivor of trafficking to serve as a voice against human sexual slavery or that contribute to a survivor’s integration into her community and the reduction of social stigma. A number of these scholarships will also be available to support continuing education or other activities that enhance the capacity of staff members of organizations dedicated to the eradication of human trafficking to carry out their work more effectively and with greater impact.

This fall the Foundation invited the staff of shelters, social service agencies, and anti-trafficking organizations based in Southeast Asia to submit nominations for scholarship recipients. The scholarships are intended for a survivor of sex trafficking who has shown aptitude for leadership and who has a specific plan of action or project that will enable her to act, or increase her impact, as an advocate against human trafficking or whose work will lead to a reduction in the social stigma experienced by trafficked people; or, a staff member at an anti-trafficking service provider or other agency to pursue educational or other opportunities that will enhance his or her capacity to work more effectively to end trafficking or its social stigma. 

The Somaly Mam Foundation is delighted to provide this opportunity for survivors of sex trafficking and their allies to strengthen their ability to speak out against human trafficking and its social stigma. We look forward to keeping you abreast of their progress.

On October 27th, Somaly Mam shared her personal struggle to a wrapped audience of over ten thousand. Hosted by First Lady Maria Shriver in California, the nation’s premier forum for women features other noteworthy speakers, including Senior Advisor to President Obama Valerie Jarrett, Madeleine Albright, Katie Couric, Geena Davis, Eve Ensler, Paula Zahn, and many more.

The Somaly Mam Foundation submitted a Commitment to Action to the Clinton Global Initiative which has been accepted. The action will put into place a micro-financing program that will support the reintegration of survivors through microenterprise development.

The program will identify and supply micro-financing to viable microenterprises proposed by pairs of people comprised of one survivor and one person who has not been trafficked. This approach provides a viable means of sustainable livelihood and decreases the social stigma that impairs business ventures by survivors alone.

We are working with the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), a Thai NGO that pioneered this program with great success. They will help train and guide us through the initial stages of the program, which we will launch in Cambodia, Laos, and potentially Vietnam. This project will launch in January of 2010.

At the CGI summit, President Clinton called Somaly on stage to highlight this project and recognize her work. Somaly met Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, and Julie Ormond at the event.

New York, September 17 – Susan Sarandon became the first person to receive the “The Somaly Mam Voices for Change Award” for her “immeasurable contributions to the fight against human slavery, and for her hard work advocating for the young victims of trafficking,” said Michael Waldman, the chairman of the board for the Somaly Mam Foundation.Joining Susan Sarandon at the annual benefit event on was a mix of New York’s leading activists, celebrities and philanthropists. Opening the evening with a moving a cappella song was 15 year old Cambodian trafficking survivor, Day Le. Her song “challenges the world to witness her pain as she reflects on the poverty that tore her from her home and trafficked her through countless sorrows until the day that she found shelter from the storm,” said Bill Livermore, executive director of the Somaly Mam Foundation.Unveiled at the event were the much anticipated Lipstick Portraits by artist and photographer Michael Angelo. The portraits have been created as an expression of solidarity for the victims of human trafficking.Addressing the current economic climate and it’s impact on women and girl, Bill Livermore stressed that

“The state of the global economy has put more women and girls at risk then ever before. I urge you to get the word out to your networks about our work. Please stress that needs are growing and even small monthly contributions can positively impact our ability to shelter, heal, nourish and educate a survivor. We need your help to build a world where hopes and dreams are seen in the smiles of children everywhere.”

Through its programs in South East Asia, the Somaly Mam Foundation rescues woman and children enslaved in brothels and provides the victims of sex trafficking comprehensive rehabilitation services through it’s network of survivor centers. The foundation is also engaged globally in advocacy and awareness efforts with the goal of eradicating sex trafficking and the exploitation of children. Learn more about the Somaly Mam Foundation and follow the foundation on Facebook.

The Somaly Mam Foundation is currently seeking qualified applicants for internship positions in New York City. Interested candidates should submit applications immediately. The internship requires a minimum commitment of 20 hours per week and is unpaid. Start and end dates are flexible.

Internship Description

Working closely with the Director of Operations, this position will support a large variety of the needs of the Somaly Mam Foundation. The candidate must have a computer and Internet access and be located in the New York City area.

Qualifications:

• Commitment to human rights
• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Strong research skills
• Literacy in MS Word and Excel
• Strong organizational skills
• Ability to work creatively, independently and as a team member
• Strong Attention to detail

Interested? You can apply on our internship page.

As part of the Body Shop “Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People” campaign, Somaly Mam tours the U.S. and Canada to raise awareness about child trafficking and appeal for the public’s support. In a response to a question from Reuters about the campaign, Somaly explains:

“I need everyone to help our work, to open everyone’s eyes to what is going on with trafficking children and what is going on in Cambodia, Asia and around the world,”

“It is not easy to get funding … and the more people get involved the more we can stop trafficking.”

Learn More and Help the Somaly Mam Foundation Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People:

	Make an Online Donation to the Somaly Mam Foundation!
	Support the Somaly Mam Foundation with an online or in-store purchase of the Bag for Life. Buy a few and help your friends and family go green!
	Visit the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People campaign page

Campaign News Coverage

Former sex slave seeks help as 4-year-old found in brothel – Reuters Battle to End Child Sex Trafficking – FOX 11 News, Los Angeles Former sex slave turned activist Somaly Mam launches three-year campaign – www.metronews.ca Sex slavery victim visits Central New York, speaks out against child sex trafficking – The Post-Standard Sex tourism and Canada’s weak response – CTV.ca News Beauty firm to fight child sex trafficking – Winnipeg Free Press

June 30th – Denver, CO

Join us for the graduation of the first class of the Somaly Mam Foundation’s Voices for Change program!

The Voices for Change program was established to train survivors of slavery to become activists for the cause. A small group of survivors was hand-picked by Somaly Mam from the centers of AFESIP Cambodia and offered positions on the Somaly Mam Foundation staff as activists in training. Their primary responsibility right now is to learn English and get caught up on basic education. They also shadow and assist Somaly Mam as she works with government officials, law enforcement officers, and conducts workshops to raise awareness.

The Voices for Change members are currently undergoing an intensive English as a Second Language (ESL) course at Regis University in Denver, Colorado. The language and cultural immersion will not only help enhance their English, but it will also provide them with a new perspective of the world. The trip has also provided the girls with public speaking experience and opportunities to practice their communications skills with the media as ambassadors for the Somaly Mam Foundation.

The ESL course at Regis University lasts for one month from July 1 to August 1 and establishes the annual language and cultural immersion course for program participants. A graduation ceremony will take place at Regis University on July 30th at 11:30am with a reception to follow. Supporters from the Denver area are invited to attend as guests. Space is limited.

RSVP to Randy Lumpp at rlumpp@regis.edu to receive further details.

The Somaly Mam Foundation is currently seeking qualified applicants for its communications internship positions in Washington DC. Interested candidates should submit applications immediately for Summer/Fall/Winter 2009. The internship requires a minimum commitment of 20 hours per week and is unpaid. Start and end dates are flexible.

Internship Description

Working closely with the communications team, this position will support the research, writing and outreach needs of the Somaly Mam Foundation and its Web site, blog, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace pages. The Foundation does not currently maintain offices in Washington DC so the candidate must have a computer and Internet access.

Qualifications:

• Commitment to human rights
• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Strong research skills
• Literacy in MS Word and Excel
• Strong organizational skills
• Ability to work creatively, independently and as a team member
• Strong Attention to detail
• Familiarity with HTML a plus

Interested? You can apply on our internship page.