The Baylor chapter of International Justice Mission is holding its first Stand for Freedom event this weekend.
Stand for Freedom will be a 24-hour event held on Fountain Mall. The event will start at 8 a.m. today and end at 8 a.m. Saturday.
IJM chapters have been holding Stand for Freedom events on campuses all over the United States for the past two weeks.
The event includes a justice market, volleyball tournament, documentary screening, candlelight worship led by The Union Revival sunrise yoga and breakfast. The documentary being shown is “Call and Response” and the justice market will feature vendors that sell fair trade goods.
The event is for people to stand for those who are oppressed, face violence and injustice around the world. There will also be the opportunity for people to learn more about modern-day slavery and how to help end it.
“Modern day slavery is an issue that will define our generation,” said Baylor’s IJM vice president, Annie Pirrello. “It is important that people are aware of this. There will be parts of this event that will open people’s minds and maybe their hearts. Maybe we will get more fighters for the cause. That would be awesome.”
Robert Callahan and Frank Wolf will be speaking at the event.
Callahan is a Baylor Law School alumnus and local defense attorney. Callahan will be speaking about his work with UnBound, a nonprofit organization that helps sponsor impoverished children, and defends survivors of human trafficking. Callahan and the Baylor IJM have a strong relationship, and he has spoken for them a number of times.
Callahan works with local human trafficking victims and local police to help educate them on the signs of human trafficking victims. He will be speaking at 2 p.m. Friday in the Beckman room in the Bill Daniels Student Center.
Wolf is a former congressman and Baylor’s religious freedom chair. He will be speaking about his work in advocating human rights during his time as a congressman. He will speak at 4:30 p.m. today on Fountain Mall.
“Wolf has worked diligently in Congress in passing human trafficking laws,” said Baylor’s IJM president Loren Aguirre. “Which is so important because you can have the heart to help, but unless you do something preventative, the problem just grows.”
IJM is divided into three subcommittees. These committees include events, Waco outreach and stand for freedom.
“We follow the mission of seeking justice across the world for those affected by modern day slavery and other injustices by supporting the work of IJM,” said IJM’s website. “We do this by raising awareness on our campuses and in our communities and by raising funds which we donate to IJM global.”
The Baylor chapter of IJM welcomes new members year-round. They have weekly meetings on Mondays at 8 p.m. in the Lipscomb room of the SUB. There is an official new member application that can be found on the group’s website at www.ijmbaylor.com. To become a member, one can fill out an application and bring $20 for dues to a chapter meeting at earliest convenience.
If there are weather problems, the event will be moved into the Baines room of the SUB. IJM Baylor will be updating their Facebook page to let people know about any changes due to weather.
