CHEYENNE, WYOMING –
As Cheyenne Frontier Days begin, the Zonta Club of Cheyenne is again focused on raising awareness about human trafficking. This is the fourth year that Zonta volunteers are engaged in an awareness campaign during Cheyenne Frontier Days. Their goal is to eliminate from our community this criminal activity that is pervasive throughout the United States.
While the Zonta awareness campaign takes many forms throughout the year, the Zonta volunteers intensify their efforts during Cheyenne Frontier Days. Human traffickers tend to be drawn to any event with large crowds where there is an opportunity to make money at the expense of victims who have often been coerced and believe they have nowhere else to turn. Zonta want the victims to know that there is somewhere to turn and that one call to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 may change their life. Zonta also encourages community residents and visitors to call this hotline number if they have any suspicion that human trafficking is occurring. Since 2007, an estimated 56 cases of human trafficking in Wyoming have been identified as a result of calls to the hotline.
Zonta volunteers will be distributing the hotline number throughout the community and throughout the grounds where most of the Cheyenne Frontier Days activities take place. They will also be present near the Cheyenne Depot during the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday pancake breakfasts. The public will have an opportunity to learn more about the dangers many of our youth face relative to human trafficking and how the public may be the eyes of the community to stop this evil crime from taking hold in our area.
Human trafficking is one of the most profitable and fastest growing crimes throughout the world. Official governmental sources report that profits from human trafficking run into the tens of billions of dollars, with at least half of those profits in industrialized countries around the globe. It is also one of the most unreported crimes.
General Information
Founded in 1956, the Zonta Club of Cheyenne is an organization of executives and professionals working together to advance the status of women worldwide through service and advocacy. Zonta Club of Cheyenne is a member of Zonta International, a global organization founded in 1919, with more than 29,000 members in 63 countries and geographic areas.
