Our Story
Six months after COVID began, I came across a video someone shared on LinkedIn which mentioned that since schools had been closed due to COVID, there had been six million additional reports of child abuse according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The discussion included, ‘Should schools reopen to help keep kids safe?’
The person in the video was Tim Ballard of Operation Underground Railroad. I had never heard of him or the organization, so I looked online. I learned that they do amazing work globally to rescue children from sex trafficking.
Like anyone who hears about sex trafficking of children, I thought of what I could do to help. While sex trafficking is a global crisis, my first thought was to learn what organizations are involved in fighting sex trafficking that takes place in Arizona. After connecting with someone with insight into sex trafficking, I learned about some organizations that do great work on the front line of the fight in Arizona.
With the help of others, Child Save Arizona was created to help support and promote Arizona organizations actively involved in the fight.
I would like to give a special ‘Thank you’ to Erin Callinan of Peace of My Mind and Melissa Li of Making the Impact for helping get this endeavor started.
Mike Bean, Founder
ChildSave Arizona