Vision & Mission

#FlooringForFREEDOM
#ENDTrafficking

In 2018, we felt a call to support North Star Initiative (NSI).

In 2019, we finally did something about it. We held a promotion called “Flooring For Freedom” and 10% of every sale for two months went to North Star Initiative to support the restoration aftercare of trafficked survivors. (See the promo video here).

In 2020, we felt that supporting NSI a few times a year with a promotion didn’t go far enough — we wanted to do this 24/7/365.

For years, we needed a UVP (Unique Value Proposition) — and this was it — #FlooringForFreedom. In the second quarter of 2020, we reoriented our business to a design path solution that included Flooring For Freedom 24/7/365 — and that 10% of our profit would consistently go to North Star Initiative. Our team at Elizabethtown Flooring is so excited to offer you the chance to not only transform your home or office into its maximum design potential with our products, but we are also thrilled to be contributing to the fight to restore those rescued from slavery.

In 2022, we are also partnering with Align Pregnancy Services semiannually to bring about a change for freedom for mothers in our area – to support them with Pregnancy Services, Parenting Classes & Support, & Post-Abortion Support.

WHY IS TRAFFICKING A BIG DEAL, DOES IT EVEN HAPPEN IN LANCASTER COUNTY?

Yes! While there is no way to calculate or know the number of women trafficked in Lancaster County. In PA, the 2019 statistics state there were 271 reported cases (actual trafficking victims could be in the thousands in PA due to unreported cases). PA is ranked #9 in the U.S. for trafficking in 2019.

North Star Initiative knows all about trafficking. For ten years, North Star has been providing restoration aftercare for survivors. First off: For a woman being trafficked, the odds of being rescued are only 1 out of 100. You see, all too often rescue does not mean freedom. Those who are rescued often find themselves at emergency, domestic violence or homeless shelters, none of which address the unique needs of trafficking survivors. Because these shelters are temporary, today, countless women who have been rescued from sex trafficking will have nowhere to turn. Once back on the streets, it is more likely that they will fall back into a life of sexual enslavement or exploitation or be suicidal. North Star Initiative (and Elizabethtown Flooring by proxy) is on a mission to change that.

• 1 out of 100 — For a woman being trafficked, the odds of being rescued are only 1 out of 100.
• 13 years old — the average age of a child exploited through prostitution (some as young as four years old and younger)
• 98% — of trafficked survivors are physically abused
• Seven years life expectancy — Seven years is the average life expectancy of a trafficked victim
• 70% — 70% of trafficked survivors are suicidal

SO, WHAT IS FLOORING FOR FREEDOM?

#FlooringForFREEDOM

Flooring for Freedom is our initiative to build awareness in Lancaster County of the frequency of death and enslavement of women. We want Lancaster County to be awake and aware of the slavery and death cycle in our community. Flooring for Freedom is about us giving back through our local business – so that a portion of your next flooring sale goes towards freedom, but if you get nothing else out of this page – all we want for you is to check out North Star Initiative – get involved – be aware – start talking to your friends – share this information – support life. Because we believe there should always be a lighthouse, a harbor – ready to rescue those in slavery. As more women are rescued and restored, more will be sent out to bring awareness to our government and anti-trafficking task forces — in how to combat the demand for trafficking. And our vision is to see a Lancaster County free of slavery, free of trafficking.

LOCAL SURVIVOR STORIES

More About North Star Initiative

OKAY, I HAD NO IDEA TRAFFICKING WAS SUCH A BIG DEAL IN LANCASTER COUNTY AND BEYOND. WHAT CAN I DO NOW TO GET STARTED?

Learn more about North Star and support their movement here: https://northstarinitiative.org

Become an abolitionist here: https://exoduscry.com/abolitionist/

ISN’T PROSTITUTION A CHOICE?

Prostitution is not a choice. Prostitution is primarily the result of a lack of choice among the most marginalized, vulnerable, and defenseless people in the world. MOST WOMEN IN PROSTITUTION ARE SUFFERING from poverty and are pulled into the industry by their desperate need for money just to survive. But the sad fact is that almost no one gets out of poverty through prostitution. In fact, as legal scholar Catherine Mackinnon put it, “they are lucky to get out with their lives given the mortality figures.” No one chooses to be poor when given other options. In addition to poverty, a prior history of childhood physical and/or sexual abuse is commonplace amongst prostituted women. It is extremely rare to find a person in prostitution who has not suffered from abuse before their time in the sex industry. No one chooses to be abused.

“Women in prostitution have a mortality rate 40 times higher than the national average.” – Prostitution Research & Education

Peril is a basic fact of prostitution. The real money-makers of prostitution are pimps, traffickers, and other predatory stakeholders.

As such, these individuals have devised a clever cover narrative that conceals the deeper truth of what is actually happening to those being sold for sex, preventing the outside world from seeing the injustice.

Helena Evans (formerly prostituted for almost 30 years) – “It’s all an act. During my nearly 30 years as a prostitute, I got to know hundreds of prostitutes, and I can honestly say that I don’t know one person who enjoyed it.”

It’s time we expose the truth together and create a world of freedom.

HELP TELL THE WORLD PROSTITUTION IS #NOTAChoice #TraffickingIsREAL #FlooringForFREEDOM