Congratulations NIX on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

As New Year's Eve approaches, so does the 5th Annual National Human Trafficking Awareness Day [January 11, 2012]. Many readers of this blog will recall the collaborative efforts of the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, NIX Converence and Meeting Management Company, The Millennium Hotel, ECPAT, and Covering House in St. Louis. Over two years ago none of us could have dreamed of the impact of our actions.

S. Joyce, Kim from NIX, S. Kathy, and Dominic
at the Millennium Hotel in July 2011

Many hotels have signed the EPCAT Code of Conduct but few have done it so publically. The Federation Event 2011 website has all the news coverage that surrounded this event.

The ripple effect of this action has been a true expression of connecting neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God. On January 11, 2012, NIX will be the first meeting planning company in the U.S. to sign a Meeting Planner’s Code of Conduct. The impact of this is huge. Read the press release on the NIX website: http://www.nixassoc.com/more-about-nix/

Recently I received an email from Kim, the Senior Account Manager and coorinator of Nix, inviting us to this event. In the note she describes the impact of the Sisters of St. Joseph on her life and work.

The Federation has made such an immense impact on our company and our city! We thank you and as promised, once the event was over your mission has carried on. Personally, you have created a fire in me that cannot be extinguished, and I love and thank you all for that. One of the most memorable parts of the my year after the Federation event is that everywhere there was a CSJ, they would take my hand and tell me that I too was a CSJ at heart…and I believe that to be true. Because I knew you, I have been changed for good…

You may also want to check out the Healing Action Network that was founded in 2011 in response to the growing need of person-centered awareness, advocacy, and action on behalf of sexually exploited individuals. NIX, ECPAT, and Covering House are part of this network.