Spotlight on Service: TASIS Freecember Club

For a bit of background, Freecember is a club that works to make a difference in the fight against modern slavery around the world. It is based on the charity Chab Dai, which works in Cambodia to spread awareness about human trafficking, support and empower the local community, and provide support to survivors. The TASIS Freecember Club has many ways of working to raise money in aid of Chab Dai: purple dress days (the color chosen to represent Freecember is purple), bake sales, charity walks around Thorpe, and most importantly, the individual efforts of Freecember Club members.

During November, the month selected by our club leaders Tia S. and Samy E., each member must choose one thing they would like to do or accomplish each day. They must then post on some form of social media or demonstrate in some way what they are doing and tag #Freecember. This spreads awareness about the endeavors of the Freecember club. Additionally, it continues to educate about the pressing issues of modern-day slavery that many people don't fully understand.

So, let's look at what some of our members are up to this month!

Tia S. and Mairéad M. are learning a new violin duet together each day, posting what tune they have chosen and a small clip of them playing it. For the first two weeks of November, they chose “I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You” by Elvis Presley and “We Three Kings” to get in the holiday spirit.

Harper W. chose to bake or cook something new every day in November and post a photo on her Instagram, tagging Freecember and telling people why she is doing it. Her highlights included delicious blueberry muffins, jam heart cookies, and spaghetti carbonara. Her family is very pleased with her ambitions, as they benefit from the incredible food.

Molly P. supports the fight against modern slavery by completing a lesson on Duolingo every day and learning German. She posts her accomplishments (e.g., no mistakes in a lesson, improvement awards, etc.) and shows everyone that she is doing it to end human trafficking.

Finally, Max H. is posting a video of him shooting basketball hoops until he gets a basket every day and adding a fact about modern slavery into the video. For example, one day, he scored a basket after three tries and wrote that roughly a quarter of all victims of modern slavery are children and tagged #Freecember. This shocking and horrifying statistic brings people’s attention to the very real problem of modern slavery that still plagues our world and causes them to want to contribute to its eradication.

These are just a few of the wonderful efforts made by members of our TASIS Freecember Club to help end modern slavery. While no one can end modern slavery alone, everyone is capable of doing something and we believe that, together, we can fight for freedom. We hope our club inspires you to join in our cause!