​Our biggest day of charitable giving of the year is coming up on May 8.  That’s the day BEST is participating in GiveBIG—the one-day online giving event where thousands of big-hearted people band together to help raises funds to support nonprofit organizations.

Every dollar counts even more! GiveBIG is the only time of year that your donation dollars to BEST will be doubled or even tripled by some special donors who are dedicated to BEST! All gifts will be doubled, and gifts of $100 or more will be tripled, maximizing your impact to BEST.

This year, BEST’s goal is to raise $25,000 dollars to help interrupt and prevent human trafficking, and to employ trafficking survivors. Here’s what we do:

We Raise Awareness about Human Trafficking 

BEST raises awareness about the impact that human trafficking has on victims and employers. BEST provides online and in-person training to help employees recognize human trafficking and proactively prevent exploitation. We offer training for business leaders and general staff, training for hotel managers and their staffs, and our Continuing Legal Education (CLE) course helps educate legal professionals about the risks surrounding sex trafficking.  

We Provide Professional Consulting for Business Leaders 

BEST empowers employers to help victims and prevent exploitation through their day-to-day business operations. BEST provides free resources, including; best practices to prevent sex trafficking, an online self-assessment, and strategic advice. BEST also supports employers to develop anti-trafficking strategies, as well as how to implement workplace policies and provide internal communications that help prevent human trafficking.

We are Creating a Pipeline to Employment 

A lack of alternative employment opportunities is one of the most serious barriers for people seeking freedom from a trafficker. To address this problem, BEST’s Safe Jobs Collaborative connects people who have been trafficked with safe, stable employment. BEST provides employers with training and support, while working with local service agencies to connect human trafficking survivors who are seeking work with Safe Jobs employers.  

You Can Join the Movement

Be part of the movement to take a stand against human trafficking. Join us between now and May 8, and schedule your donation on our GiveBIG Profile Page. All pre-scheduled donations will be processed on May 8th, the day of GiveBIG.

Together, we can all make a difference. 

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California Senator, Toni Atkins, knows something about trail-blazing.

Before taking office, she was the director of client services at Womancare Health Center in San Diego, where she helped significantly expand the clinic’s services and founded the Toni Atkins Lesbian Health Fund to assist low-income lesbian and bisexual women in need of medical treatment.

After being elected to the California legislature, Senator Atkins was chosen by her colleagues to be the next Senate President pro Tempore, and in March 2018 she was sworn in as the first openly LGBTQ person to lead the California Legislature’s upper house.

Senator Atkins’ commitment to under-served populations and to women’s health and safety inspired her to author Senate Bill 970.  This bill requires all California hotels and lodging establishments that are subject to the Fair Employment and Housing Act provide at least 20 minutes of training and education regarding human-trafficking awareness to each employee who is likely to interact or come into contact with victims of human trafficking.

Senator Atkins’ bill was signed into law on September 27, 2018 by California Governor Jerry Brown, making California one of the first states to require human trafficking awareness training for hotel and lodging employees. California hotels have already started training their staff in order to meet the new requirement by 2020. BEST is proud to support California’s efforts to protect vulnerable citizens by partnering with the California Hotel and Lodging Association (CHLA) to provide our online Inhospitable to Human Trafficking training for their members.

At the CHLA Legislative Action Summit in March of this year, the CHLA Board of Directors had an opportunity to visit Senator Atkins and thank her for her dedication to this important issue. They were able to take a moment to pose for this photo on the Senate floor, all holding their certificates of completion for BEST’s Inhospitable to Human Trafficking training.