Convenience Stores Fighting Trafficking
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One of the moments that has stayed with me happened during our 2019 Super Bowl outreach in Atlanta. An In Our Backyard volunteer walked into a convenience store with a missing children booklet. A store team member recognized one of the children pictured inside and said they had seen that child several times during the week. We see sightings through this work year after year.
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Having it happen again during the World Cup immediately brought me back to Atlanta. These major event efforts give us an opportunity to accelerate what communities can do together at a time when attention, coordination, and security resources are high. When an In Our Backyard volunteer puts a missing children booklet into the hands of a convenience store team, that store becomes another set of eyes on the ground. When a store team has the right information, recognizing a missing child can help bring that child closer to safety before someone has another opportunity to exploit or traffic them.
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During the 40-day World Cup operation, In Our Backyard worked with law enforcement and intelligence partners from California to New Jersey. The operation culminated with our team working in person alongside the New Jersey State Police Human Trafficking Unit during efforts surrounding the World Cup Final.
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Across the operation, 53 survivors were recovered, including 11 children, and 25 suspected traffickers were arrested.
Survivors also tell us why convenience stores matter in this work. One survivor told In Our Backyard that a convenience store had “saved my life a million times.” They were not yet sure how to leave their trafficking situation, but the people at that store knew them and were supportive when they needed something. For someone experiencing trafficking, a convenience store may be a place where they stop for food, use the restroom, or briefly have space away from the person controlling them. They can see a Freedom Sticker. They can find the National Human Trafficking Hotline. They can encounter an employee who has taken free training and knows where to turn if someone asks for help but is not ready to call 911. Survivors are the heroes of their own stories. In Our Backyard and our convenience store partners work to make sure another pathway to freedom is there when someone needs it.
That is why In Our Backyard created Convenience Stores Against Trafficking. Stores can join the fight through free human trafficking training, free community resources, Freedom Stickers, missing children outreach, and opportunities to mobilize alongside In Our Backyard when major events come to their communities. Industry partners are helping this work grow. Earlier this year, bp provided significant funding to In Our Backyard because they understand that the convenience store industry has an important role in keeping human trafficking awareness visible and active. Convenience Stores Against Trafficking gives companies and stores a platform to do that through free training, Freedom Stickers, missing children outreach, community resources, and opportunities to mobilize around major events. That commitment also means investing in the work so it can continue to grow. bp’s support helped increase In Our Backyard’s capacity to reach more convenience stores and take on our first 40-day World Cup operation.
For the convenience store industry, joining the fight can look different for every company. It can mean training employees, posting resources, welcoming volunteers, sharing missing children information, and financially supporting the work that makes those efforts possible. For GACS members, this partnership already has a history. In 2019, GACS joined In Our Backyard around the Atlanta Super Bowl. More than 400 volunteers helped bring missing children booklets, Freedom Stickers, and trafficking awareness materials into Atlanta-area convenience stores. GACS members also answered the call again around the MLB All-Star Game. Some of those volunteers are still showing up today. Atlanta now has another opportunity ahead when Super Bowl LXII returns in 2028. Georgia does not have to start over. GACS members have already helped build this awareness, and convenience stores nationwide can join them. Stores can post Freedom Stickers in their restrooms. They can train their employees. They can welcome an In Our Backyard volunteer when they walk through the doors. They can put missing children information into the hands of the people who know their community.
That is what In Our Backyard has always meant to us. Human trafficking is happening in our own communities, but so is the opportunity to make a difference. Over the years, we have seen again and again that no matter who you are, you can do something tangible that helps information move faster, helps authorities take action, and helps bring someone closer to safety. A volunteer can carry a missing children booklet into a store. A convenience store employee can recognize a face. A business owner can post a Freedom Sticker. A trained employee can know how to respond when someone asks for help. Each action can become one more link in a much greater effort.
Whether In Our Backyard identifies a missing child behind a screen or a convenience store employee recognizes that child at the store door, we are working toward the same goal We want to find missing children faster, prevent trafficking when we can, and create pathways to freedom for those who need them. That is how communities make the difference. No matter who you are, you can help fight for the one. Will your store link arms with In Our Backyard? Join Convenience Stores Against Trafficking at InOurBackyard.org.
Survivors also tell us why convenience stores matter in this work. One survivor told In Our Backyard that a convenience store had “saved my life a million times.” They were not yet sure how to leave their trafficking situation, but the people at that store knew them and were supportive when they needed something. For someone experiencing trafficking, a convenience store may be a place where they stop for food, use the restroom, or briefly have space away from the person controlling them. They can see a Freedom Sticker. They can find the National Human Trafficking Hotline. They can encounter an employee who has taken free training and knows where to turn if someone asks for help but is not ready to call 911. Survivors are the heroes of their own stories. In Our Backyard and our convenience store partners work to make sure another pathway to freedom is there when someone needs it.
That is why In Our Backyard created Convenience Stores Against Trafficking. Stores can join the fight through free human trafficking training, free community resources, Freedom Stickers, missing children outreach, and opportunities to mobilize alongside In Our Backyard when major events come to their communities. Industry partners are helping this work grow. Earlier this year, bp provided significant funding to In Our Backyard because they understand that the convenience store industry has an important role in keeping human trafficking awareness visible and active. Convenience Stores Against Trafficking gives companies and stores a platform to do that through free training, Freedom Stickers, missing children outreach, community resources, and opportunities to mobilize around major events. That commitment also means investing in the work so it can continue to grow. bp’s support helped increase In Our Backyard’s capacity to reach more convenience stores and take on our first 40-day World Cup operation.
For the convenience store industry, joining the fight can look different for every company. It can mean training employees, posting resources, welcoming volunteers, sharing missing children information, and financially supporting the work that makes those efforts possible. For GACS members, this partnership already has a history. In 2019, GACS joined In Our Backyard around the Atlanta Super Bowl. More than 400 volunteers helped bring missing children booklets, Freedom Stickers, and trafficking awareness materials into Atlanta-area convenience stores. GACS members also answered the call again around the MLB All-Star Game. Some of those volunteers are still showing up today. Atlanta now has another opportunity ahead when Super Bowl LXII returns in 2028. Georgia does not have to start over. GACS members have already helped build this awareness, and convenience stores nationwide can join them. Stores can post Freedom Stickers in their restrooms. They can train their employees. They can welcome an In Our Backyard volunteer when they walk through the doors. They can put missing children information into the hands of the people who know their community.
That is what In Our Backyard has always meant to us. Human trafficking is happening in our own communities, but so is the opportunity to make a difference. Over the years, we have seen again and again that no matter who you are, you can do something tangible that helps information move faster, helps authorities take action, and helps bring someone closer to safety. A volunteer can carry a missing children booklet into a store. A convenience store employee can recognize a face. A business owner can post a Freedom Sticker. A trained employee can know how to respond when someone asks for help. Each action can become one more link in a much greater effort.
Whether In Our Backyard identifies a missing child behind a screen or a convenience store employee recognizes that child at the store door, we are working toward the same goal We want to find missing children faster, prevent trafficking when we can, and create pathways to freedom for those who need them. That is how communities make the difference. No matter who you are, you can help fight for the one. Will your store link arms with In Our Backyard? Join Convenience Stores Against Trafficking at InOurBackyard.org.
