Did you know that people in Destination Church are involved in social justice for Chicago? We seek to fight for men, women and children in Chicago that might be hidden, forgotten, exploited, and taken advantage of.

One way we do that is through Buy Art Not People (BANP), a non-profit organization made of artists and activists who seek to raise awareness and resources to combat human trafficking while shaping our culture through art.

BANP was founded by members of Destination Church in Chicago who seek to eradicate modern slavery in our lifetime and bring freedom to those in captivity, whether it be physical, mental, or spiritual.  There are more than 27 million men, women and children currently in slavery worldwide.  More than 2 million are trafficked across international borders each year by modern slave traders to meet the growing demand. 17,500 slaves are brought into the United States alone every year.

Modern slavery is known by many names: human trafficking, sexual exploitation, forced labor, the sex trade, debt bondage, etc… Sexual exploitation of minors is considered human trafficking and approximately 325,000 children in the United States are subjected to sexual exploitation every year.  The average age of entry into the commercial sex industry in the United States is 11-12 years old.  There are more slaves today, right now, than the total removed from Africa during 400 years of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.  The first step in fighting and ending the injustice of modern slavery is awareness.  Awareness is learning what modern slavery is, who is at risk, and  formulating ways on how we can fight and end human trafficking together.

If you are a visual artist, we hold art shows in many areas of the city you can get involved in.  If you are a musical artist, we are holding a music festival at Columbia College downtown in April.  If you are an open-source software developer, we are improving our website and releasing a mobile app.   For more information on how to get involved, contact connect@buyartnotpeople.org

For more information on our upcoming music/art festival on April 13, become our friend on Facebook at: //www.facebook.com/BuyArtNotPeople, follow us on Twitter at //twitter.com/buyartnotpeople, or visit asquaredproject.com.

BANP is committed to using the power of the arts to raise awareness of the plight of modern slaves and those at risk of entering slavery.  You can find more about BANP at buyartnotpeople.org

We work with the following Chicago organizations:

Traffick Free — “We are ordinary people who are volunteering our talents and our time to end to human trafficking in Chicago, and eventually throughout the world.”

CAASE (Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation) — “CAASE envisions a community free from all forms of sexual exploitation, including sexual assault and the commercial sex trade.”

Salvation Army STOP-IT — Initiative Against Human Trafficking.

 Salvation Army PROMISE — Partnership to Rescue our Minors from Sexual Exploitation.

And the following national/international organizations:

Free The Slaves — “Our goal: to end slavery in our lifetime.”

International Justice Mission — “International Justice Mission is a human rights agency that brings rescue to victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression.”

Love 146 — “Abolition and Restoration! We combat child sex slavery & exploitation with the unexpected and restore survivors with excellence.”

Not For Sale Campaign — “Not For Sale creates tools that engage businesses, government, and grassroots in order to incubate and grow social enterprises to benefit enslaved and vulnerable communities.”

Polaris Project — “Our vision is for a world without slavery.”

Stop the Traffick – “Our aim is to equip you to raise awareness and understanding of human trafficking, and to make a difference and join the fight to stop the traffick.”