Comic Creator's Alliance Fights Human Trafficking

We all know that comics are wonderful things, that's why we read and write about them. They're amazing art that expresses stories, emotions, and the world in a way that is so accessible. I'm proud to be part of this community. However, there are times when I forget just what comics and comics creators can do. Then I see something like this and it always makes me so happy when I'm reminded of the great potential of comics and their creators.

This morning, as always, I visited the wonderful webcomic Girls with Slingshots for my daily dose of slice-o'-life comedy (with a bit of surrealism thrown in) and I discovered a new blog post by the creator Danielle Corsetto. Ms. Corsetto recently participated in a project orchestrated by The Dreamer creator Lora Innes. Innes gathered together 87 Comic Creator's Alliance artists to do a wallpaper image of their female characters that is offered as an incentive in a donation drive that will benefit two charities that fight against Human Trafficking internationally and right here in the United States.

This is taken from the main page of the donation drive website:

"There are currently 27 million enslaved people worldwide- more than double the number of enslaved Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children every year are sold into slavery, most of it sexual. The US Department of Justice estimates 16,000 victims of human trafficking are brought into the United States every year."

To read more about this you can check out Innes's mission statement letter here. It's very moving and you can tell that this is a cause that means a lot to her. The proceeds of this donation drive will be divided between two charaties, Love146 and Gracehaven. I spent time looking at both websites and was very impressed by what they do and I intend to donate.

Comic creators have a lot of power. We have the power to affect individual people and, as Lora Innes and the members of the Comic Creator's Alliance are proving, we have the power to affect the world on a wider scale. I personally am very excited to check out the work of all 87 creators who helped with this project and discover some great webcomics. Here's to art and activism going hand in hand!

To donate or learn more visit:

http://comicalliance.weebly.com/index.html

http://love146.org/

http://gracehavenhouse.org/

And to see who's involved in this project, check out the list here.

Thank you so much to Lora Innes, Danielle Corsetto, and all of the artists who are involved in this project. I'm proud to be in the same community of artists and writers as you!