It has been a busy month for Tovah’s Advocacy team. Read on to see what they have been up to!
Pack with a Purpose for Covenant House NJ
More than 30 Tovah members and friends gathered on Oct. 8 to learn about human trafficking and assemble and pack much-needed supplies to donate to Covenant House New Jersey.
Thanks to Carol Cohen, Chair of the Human Trafficking Committee, for organizing this event. Miriam Korn Haimes for educating us on the basics of human trafficking, and to Nabijah Shabazz and Lynne Wilson-Bruchet from Covenant House NJ, who spoke about the important work they do to support vulnerable youth and victims of human trafficking and to Temple Emanu-el of Westfield for their support.
Tovah advocates for the rights of human trafficking survivors and work to prevent exploitation. Human trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of forced labor or sexual exploitation.
Covenant House New Jersey has several sites around the state to provide assistance, housing, and wraparound services to young people experiencing homelessness and survivors of human trafficking. They help young people move from a life in crisis to stability and independence through a comprehensive range of services.
Learn More and Take Action
NJ Coalition Against Human Trafficking: https://www.safernj.org/
Covenant House New Jersey: https://covenanthousenj.org/ or sign up to volunteer: https://covenanthousenj.org/get-involved/get-involved-volunteer/
And finally, please take action on state legislation to strengthen human trafficking laws: https://secure.everyaction.com/VFaCn1LvuECoVODRiJ7hYg2
Sukkot the Vote
Our annual outreach to voters continued with Sukkot the Vote, this year on Sept. 20 and again under the Sukkah. A team of mighty writers came together to write to newly registered voters in Pennsylvania, our neighbor state, encouraging them to cast their ballot in the upcoming election.
Power Up the Vote
Tovah kicked off the fall election season on Tuesday, Sept. 15 with its seventh annual Power Up the Vote event. More than 50 people gathered at the Livingston Senior/ Community Center to learn more about one of the most-discussed election topics – ranked choice voting – and to take action by writing letters to newly registered voters. Representatives from Voter Choice New Jersey spoke about how ranked choice voting works, how it creates more political choice in our elections and how it can encourage more positive campaigns. A sweet demonstration followed… Ranked choice was put to the test as participants sampled a variety of desserts, then voted for their favorite using ranked choice. Not surprisingly, chocolate won the day as chocolate chip cookies and chocolate crumb cake came out on top for attendees. We also welcomed community partners from the Newark Community Street Team, Moms Demand and the League of Women Voters of Livingston to share information and resources.
