Kids lace up to stop child trafficking

Vancouver kids join Canadian actress Erin Karpluk to help break the bonds of child slavery

VANCOUVER, May 2, 2015 /CNW/ - Today a group of Vancouver children had an experience they won't soon forget.

Kids from Vancouver's Tenth Street Church not only had the thrill of meeting Canadian actress & World Vision Celebrity Ambassador Erin Karpluk, they had a chance to lace up and run for a worthy cause as part of the BMO Vancouver Marathon Kids Fun Run in Stanley Park.

The kids wore World Vision orange from their heads right down to their brightly coloured shoe laces in an effort to raise awareness of child slavery in Southeast Asia --- part of the aid organization's No Child for Sale Campaign. The "orange wave" drew a healthy crowd of cheering Vancouverites, including a large group of proud parents.

CHILD LABOUR FACTS

• 168 million children toil as child labourers around the world.
• 85 million children are forced to do dirty, dangerous and degrading work, many of these kids are trafficked.

WORLD VISION'S ANTI-TRAFFICKING WORK

Today's kids' event is part of Team World Vision's cross-Canada race series which is rallying support for agency's End Trafficking in Persons (ETIP) program. 

• World Vision has helped hundreds of thousands of families across southeast Asia in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, China and Myanmar.
• World Vision helps to empower and educate the estimated 3 to 5 million annual migrants in the Greater Mekong Region to avoid the trafficking trap.

QUOTES
"It's really inspiring to see Canadian kids lace up and run to help kids across the world who may be running for their very lives. Canadian families don't face the horrors of having their children trafficked into slave-like conditions. No child should be for sale --- and Vancouver's support for World Vision's anti-trafficking program will save thousands of children from the dirty, dangerous and degrading work that threatens their lives and their futures," says Brett Tarver, Manager of Advocacy Communications at World Vision Canada.

"I've been a big supporter of World Vision's child protection work for years now. World Vision is helping thousands of families escape child trafficking throughout Southeast Asia. Child sponsorship not only gives families sustainable alternatives that let kids be kids but it also protects kids from exploitation," says Canadian celebrity Erin Karpluk.

RESOURCES
Photos of Vancouver kids running to end child slavery
Information on World Vision's ETIP child protection program
ETIP Photos
World Vision Report on Human Trafficking
Team World Vision website
#WorldVisionCan

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. Visit our News Centre worldvision.ca

SOURCE World Vision Canada

Image with caption: "Vancouver children bind together to help break the bonds of child slavery at the BMO Vancouver Marathon Kids Fun in Stanley Park on May 2, 2015. (CNW Group/World Vision Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150502_C6807_PHOTO_EN_16122.jpg

CONTACT FOR INTERVIEWS: Brett Tarver: 647-825-2712, [email protected]