Stop the Traffick!

“We only have two choices: do nothing, or do something.”

– Tony Kirwan, Destiny Rescue Founder & International CEO

Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked worldwide – including right here in the United States. It can happen in any community and victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality. According to the most recent International Labour Organization (ILO) study, there are an estimated 49.6 million people currently living in modern slavery around the world, and 5.1 million people are in modern slavery on any given day in the United States (ILO 2022).

We are ready to do something. Stop the Traffick! is an inaugural race festival that in partnership with Destiny Rescue is seeking to raise funds to rescue children from human trafficking. We will begin the morning with a competitive 5K at Kalamazoo Christian Elementary (note that this course will be off-road and will use the cross country course), followed by awards, and then our Fun Run/Fundraiser. For anyone not looking to be competitive or for a paved option, the Fun Run course will be a more friendly option. Additionally, our fundraisers, called Chain Breakers, will be doing laps on our Fun Run loop.

International Labour Organization. (2022, September). Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_854733.pdf

Race Date and Location - Saturday June 7, 2025 at Kalamazoo Christian Middle School

Event Schedule:

• Friday Packet Pickup - June 6th, 5:00 to 7:00 pm at Kalamazoo Christian Middle School
• Saturday Packet Pickup - June 7th, 6:30 am to 7:30 am at Kalamazoo Christian Middle School
• Saturday 5K Race Time - 8:00 am
• Saturday Fun Run Fundraiser Time – 9:30 am to 12:00pm

Parking – Limited parking at school.  Overflow parking at 12th Street Baptist Church.

Event Fees:

• 5k Race - $27.00
• Fun Run Fundraiser - $27.00
• 5k Race and Fun Run Fundraiser - $27.00
• No same day registration

Tee Shirts - T-Shirts are guaranteed to participants who register by May 7th.  T-shirts for registrations after May 7th will be available on a "First Come First Serve" basis.

Awards:

• 5K Awards - Overall Male and Female, 1st and 2nd Place Division winners age brackets of 14 and Under,15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-99

Fundraisers for Fun Run

• Once fundraiser has been set up when registering for race, then in RunSignUp go to your profile.  Find the Stop the Traffick! fundraiser and click edit.  Click on pledges at the top of the page to enter range of laps.
• Collect pledges by using the fundraiser link you initially set up.  These will either be per lap or per event.
• Once race is complete, again edit the fundraiser to enter the number of laps so that pledge totals can be calculated.  Pledged amounts must be received by 25Jun2025.

Race Maps