PEDAL THE PACIFIC GROUP RIDES 1,700 MILES TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

August 2, 2019

Ten representatives from the Pedal the Pacific group have been cycling to San Diego from Seattle over a period of about six weeks on a 1,700-mile charity trek to raise funds for the The Refuge for Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in Austin, Texas. They are also raising awareness about sex trafficking while empowering people to take local action in their communities.

As of July 12, the group had raised $124,757 of their $250,000 goal for The Refuge Ranch.

The money is committed to helping fund the ranch, which provides shelter to children and teens who are survivors of sex trafficking. The organization operates as a long-term restoration community for girls to women 19 years of age who have been rescued from "modern slavery".

“No one wants to wake up and be a human trafficking victim,” said Pedal the Pacific rider Robyn Whitaker, a Texas native and recent graduate of Auburn University in Alabama. “There is a vulnerability that has been exploited to get people there.”

The Defense Department has characterized human trafficking as the world’s fastest-growing crime. The most common form of human trafficking is for sexual exploitation, according to the United Nations.

The Pedal the Pacific women — from colleges in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, who describe themselves as “hilariously unathletic girls” — began their journey July 8 in Seattle and will finish in San Diego next week.

Pedal the Pacific, a 3-year-old organization, was the idea of then-college seniors Sara Belmer of the University of Arkansas, and Savannah Lovelace and Grace Pfeffer of the University of Texas at Austin.

“Pedal the Pacific is just the launching pad to show people that you can make a difference,” said Pfeffer, who now works as the public relations and communications manager at The Refuge Ranch.

This year’s riders were selected from a pool of eager applicants, and they’ve camped or stayed with host families during their adventure.

“The demand for people wanting to raise awareness is prevalent,” said Lovelace, development coordinator at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Austin.