Rebirth, Rejuvenation, and a Passionate Focus on the Beloved Community

It was a little over a year ago in March 2020 that I felt called to post a picture to the Teens Stand Against Trafficking’s Instagram account about building a beloved community. The pandemic was in the very early stages in the U.S., but with schools and businesses closing their doors across the country, a helpless feeling of despair was front and center. My main goal of the post was to emphasize the importance of caring for one another, even in the face of a global pandemic. Now, one year later, after a long and difficult journey, and with much suffering and loss, there is hope and a light at the end of the tunnel.

This concept of the Beloved Community has stuck with me in the past year. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr promoted the this global vision in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. King envisioned a society based on justice, economic and social, and loving one’s fellow human beings. King was assassinated nearly 53 years ago, but his vision still lives on and resonates loudly today.

Free To Run Foundation was started in 2012 with a clear, and at the time, single focus on raising awareness of human trafficking, locally and globally. We started with a single event, a 5k race on New Year’s Day, as our vehicle for raising awareness. For several years, we operated the race in a few different locations, and by doing so we expanded the audience to hear about human trafficking, and also worked with several great organizations that we supported through the race. We continue to look for different ways to educate, promote advocacy, and ultimately grow the movement to end human trafficking and to create a more just world. Fighting for justice means addressing root causes for issues like human trafficking. If you don’t reform justice systems, eliminate violence and oppression of the poor and marginalized, and work to end poverty, then exploitation will continue to occur.

How does the Beloved Community concept relate to our mission? Our experience and observations over the past year have motivated us to be more active in our communities going forward, to demonstrate to the oppressed and marginalized communities that care about them. To do this, we plan to partner and collaborate with other organizations where it makes sense on projects that have a positive impact and create change. We will engage, educate, and empower youth to make a difference in their communities, through our Balance Boxes program and through Teens Stand Against Trafficking. Last but not least, we will continue to work on becoming effective social justice advocates and allies.

Love [one] Another; You Belong. Rocks from the Community Garden at Cleveland Elementary in Dayton, Ohio.

We’re three months into 2021, but we already have some new and exciting plans in the works. On April 7th, World Health Day, we are presenting a 30 minute virtual yoga class, with all proceeds from the class benefitting the Community Garden at Cleveland Elementary School in Dayton (registration information here: https://yogaforworldhealth.eventbrite.com/). This will be the first of what we hope are many more opportunities to promote the benefits of yoga while also supporting a specific cause. Environmental justice is another area we are going to venture into this year, and we are currently engaging with and learning about several initiatives taking place in the Dayton area. There will be more to share in the months to come, including a new mission and vision statement for Free To Run Foundation. We hope that you will continue to follow us on this journey as we evolve and grow, and that you will be inspired to join us in our efforts to create a just society for all people.