BEING PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER
Cyclists continue their trek cross-country to raise awareness about human trafficking
“I’m realizing that in order to be a part of something bigger you have to get your feet wet and realize that it’s not about you.” — Jonathan Moore, team member, Worthwhile: GO
LANSDALE >> It’s one thing to listen; it’s another thing to act. For 20-year-old Lansdale resident Jonathan Moore it seems that his desire to take action has catapulted him into a crosscountry adventure he’s likely to never forget.
Moore now finds himself biking across America for the first time to help raise awareness about human trafficking in the states.
In data collected between 2007 and 2012, U.S. citizens were referenced as the victims of 41 percent of sex trafficking cases, and women were referenced as 85 percent of victims in sex trafficking cases, according to the Polaris Project, a non- profit, non-governmental organization that works to combat modern-day slavery.
According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, which is operated by Polaris, there have been 19,991 human trafficking cases reported since 2007.
Moore is riding with fellow bikers Jay Atlas, 25, of King of Prussia, and Sly Williams, 28, of Norristown, who began this journey in May.
Spearheaded by Atlas,
who was inspired after attending the Passion Conference, a faith-based conference for college students. The event ignited his zeal for raising awareness about human trafficking and has led him on a cross-country walk from Atlantic City to Los Angeles for the cause, as well as his first biking expedition from Seattle to Miami last year, according to Digital First Media ar- chives.
“I met Jay and Sly through my brother at a local Bible study, I finished high school, was working and I just wanted to be part of something bigger than myself,” Moore said during a recent phone interview from the road about three weeks into the trip. “I heard about the walk Jay did and I heard about Sly joining up last year and I knew I wanted to be part.”
The bikers, who have teamed up with Worthwhile Wear in Pipersville, Pa., an organization that seeks to help victims of human trafficking nationally and internationally, formed the non-profit Worthwhile: GO, which focuses on raising awareness about human tracking, as well as raising $10,000 for The Well, a facility under the Worthwhile Wear umbrella that provides housing and support to victims of human trafficking, according to WorthwhileWear.org, the organi- zation’s website.
“The goal of Worthwhile: GO is really to engage more communities and leading other types of active events; Whether it be biking, hiking, climbing, walking, going and being active, and in that process, telling the story of why we are doing what we are doing,” Worthwhile Wear Founder and Executive Director Daniel Emr said. “There is a lot of power in the story.”
With more than 500 miles down, the trio has already made stops in Annapolis, Md., to support new human trafficking legislation signed into law by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Atlas said. The law allows displaced victims of human trafficking to attend state colleges without having to pay a higher tuition fee if they aren’t residents of the state, according to the Worthwhile: GO Facebook page. They have also checked in with a church friend in Minnesota before biking to Fargo, N.D., their official start destination, Atlas said.
“I really have learned a lot through this journey so far,” Moore said. “This has helped me grow as a person and helped me realize that there are people out here that have it worse off than me and that I have no reason to complain about my life. I just wanted to help out and be part of something bigger.”
On their 3,900-mile trek, the friends will pass through South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado and New Mexico before ending i n Texas sometime in August, Atlas said. Along the way, the trio will stop to speak at churches, touch base with supporters and may even get to help victims along the way, Atlas said.
“(Last year) we were cycling down the road in Silver Springs, Mo., and this girl comes out of a motel room asking for help,” he recalled. “We don’t really plan for things like that, but one of things that we do is find connections so we can then help people find the assistance they need.”
Organizations such as the Kansas City Street Hope, Exodus Cry and the Central Missouri Stop Human Trafficking Coalition are just some of the entities in the group’s network of support that they can call upon as they travel, he said.
“I’m realizing that in order to be a part of something bigger you have to get your feet wet and realize that it’s not about you,” Moore said. “Even when you’re riding and it’s hard, you have to realize there is a common goal at hand.”