On Monday, Calvin’s chapter of The Free Project placed red flags around campus as part of their project to raise awareness and to help people understand when their children are at risk of being trafficked.

According to their website, The Free Project is “a growing network of college students fighting to bring an end to slavery worldwide.”

The Free Project started in September 2010 when a group of students from four campus anti-slavery groups in the Washington, DC/Maryland area combined to form an international student organization to fight slavery.

“We are the former ‘Voice Against Human Trafficking,’ but since leadership changed we just thought a fresh start in multiple aspects would be nice and helpful,” said Flavius Tomeci, the vice president and treasurer of the organization.

The Free Project isn’t the only anti-trafficking effort in the area. Kent County Human Trafficking Task Force also had a conference in downtown Grand Rapids on Tuesday, September 15, where they screened the documentary “The Hunting Ground” and had a panel discussion afterwards.

Tomeci listed three goals for the organization this year, one of them being promoting awareness.

“This would be maybe streaming some documentaries and making t-shirts and cookies to sell on campus,” he said. The group also plans to attend the Third Annual Movement Against Humans Trafficking at Spring Arbor with their members.

The group intends to hold fundraisers around campus to raise money for organizations either locally or globally.

Another goal is to increase their involvement with local organizations in Grand Rapids:

“We thought it would be nice to already get in touch with organizations around Grand Rapids and include Calvin College in this great and important cause,” said Tomeci.

The Free Project will have its first meeting Monday, September 21, at 7:00 p.m. in CFAC 230