Anti-Trafficking Donor Spotlight

Project Love: Coming Together to Stop 141 People From Being Trafficked

By Paula Cornell | Content Marketing & Social Media Strategist at Love Justice International January 20, 2026

“We wanted to hold each other accountable to do something that mattered,” said Aleister Avila. Avila helped mobilize a group of 18 friends to fundraise for Love Justice last year, calling it “Project Love.”

The results were staggering. Together, the group raised $18,730, which ultimately protected 141 people from being enslaved.

This week during Human Trafficking Prevention Month, our action step is to advocate and share—whether that’s starting a conversation, posting on social media, or rallying your community to fundraise.

The Project Love fundraiser proves how powerful this step can be, especially when multiplied through a group coming together for a common goal.

Fundraising for Freedom

Avila and his friends met through an online leadership training course with the desire to help make the world a better place through love, courage, and connection. With that goal in mind, they chose an organization aligned with their values to fundraise for: Love Justice.

Their goal was to raise $18,000 in just eight weeks.

“In the beginning, it felt completely unattainable and out of reach,” said Christina Price, one of the participants. “To have overcome that and to have seen how much progress we were actually capable of making was pretty remarkable.”

Their strategy was simple: pursuing contributions from each of their own networks through conversations and social media platforms.

In one touching encounter, an elderly neighbor gave Avila a single dollar toward the cause after being moved by what he shared.

“It was the most fascinating and inspiring thing that happened to me—that this one lady cared so much that although she said she didn’t have anything, she went back inside to try to find something,” Avila said.

The woman gave him a hug and thanked him before he left.

In another encounter, a man donated after the topic hit a little too close to home. His friend’s daughter went missing for a little while before they found her again.

“It was a scary situation for the guy … and he said, ‘I can’t help but [support] you guys now because this happened to a friend of mine, and if we could have prevented that from happening, imagine the impact we could have,’” Avila recalled.

lji-staff-with-young-girl-2

Akiba Sossou said participating in the fundraiser reminded her of her mother, who made their home a refuge for people in the neighborhood who needed help.

“We would get knocks on the door at different times of the night. And one of the ones I remember was a girl who was about to be sexually assaulted and she ran to our house and we hid her. … This [fundraiser] was kind of a reminder of a story of the past, a life that I used to live,” she said.

The group worked hard to reach their goal, encouraging each other along the way. Some participants had natural giftings in sharing and advocating, and for others it was more of a challenge.

“It took work, it took devotion, it took something deeper within each one of us to pull out and say, ‘You know what? This right here is more important than my feelings of insecurity or not wanting to do this,’” said Sossou.

They motivated each other by reminding themselves how many lives would be impacted by what they had raised so far—and how many more they could impact if they hit their goal.

In the end, they surpassed their goal by $730, protecting five additional people from being trafficked. They had 243 donations total, all under $1,000.

“We all wanted to be better human beings … and wanted to contribute to the world,” said Avila.

Because of the group’s dedication to their goal, 141 people are free today.

Your turn: help spread the word

girls-in-nepal-village-2 Advocacy and sharing is a critical part of this work. This week, we’re inviting you to play a role in spreading the word too, whether through your conversations, friend group, social media, or any other platform you choose.

Not everyone can make a large donation or go out personally into the field, but everyone can advocate and fundraise for those in danger of being trafficked.

If you can get a friend or more to join you, even better! As Project Love shows, we are stronger and more effective when we work together.

Check out our easy P2P fundraising platform and other fundraising ideas at the button below to get started.

Thanks for standing with us against injustice to make this world a little better and safer for others!

*All data and statistics current at the date and time of publishing.

About The Author

Paula Cornell | Content Marketing & Social Media Strategist at Love Justice International

Paula is from Seattle and joined Love Justice shortly after graduating from the University of Washington with a bachelor's degree in journalism and public interest communications. Prior to college, she spent several years volunteering with Youth With A Mission, where she heard and witnessed incredible stories from around the world of healing and redemption in the face of injustice. Seeing how stories like these could inspire hope, bring understanding, and spur people into action, she began to dream of how stories could change the world. This dream eventually led her to return to college to pursue a writing degree and delivered her into the hands of Love Justice, where she is happily learning to write with an awesome team of people for a cause that she cares deeply about.