LOS ANGELES, August 1, 2020 — On the United Nation’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Love Grenades, a jewelry brand that promotes positivity in our daily lives, has joined forces with Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), a nonprofit that combats child sex trafficking, to introduce a special edition Sound of Freedom dog tag, inspired by the upcoming feature film Sound of Freedom, which chronicles Tim Ballard’s true life story and the events that inspired him to found O.U.R.
Love Grenades will donate $50 from the sale of every necklace to O.U.R. For every 30 necklaces, O.U.R. will be able to rescue one child from sex trafficking plus provide all necessary aftercare. During the pre-sale period, the first 200 people to order a necklace will also receive a free Love Grenades black leather braided bracelet, valued at $42. The necklace is available for purchase at www.freedomdogtag.com.
“We’re proud to partner with O.U.R. to support their life-saving work and bring greater awareness and visibility to the horrors of modern-day child slavery,” said Love Grenades co-founder and designer Annmarie D’Ercole. “As a parent, I feel sick to my stomach when I think about the millions of children who are suffering. I’m grateful for the opportunity to assist O.U.R. in their mission to eradicate sex slavery and bring hope and healing to survivors.”
The tungsten carbide Sound of Freedom dog tags were inspired by true events depicted in the film. Ballard was given a dog tag necklace, which was inscribed with scripture, after rescuing a five-year-old boy from sex slavery. The boy’s older sister had given the necklace to him when they were both in captivity, as a sign of hope that they would one day be free. Years later, Ballard discovered, miraculously, that his name was on the necklace (the scripture was from 1 Timothy). He vowed then and there to dedicate his life to saving children from sex slavery.
“This necklace stands as a reminder of the nearly 2 million children still being abused and trafficked in the worst form of slavery ever imagined,” Ballard said. “The necklace represents their prayer and hope that one day they will be freed from slavery, and it represents O.U.R.’s promise that we will dedicate all we have to rescuing them.”
The Sound of Freedom dog tag necklace is launching the same day as the trailer for the film, directed by Alejandro Monteverde and starring Jim Caviezel, and set to be released this fall.
Launched in 2013, O.U.R. has rescued over 4,000 survivors and assisted in the arrests of over 2,200 predators worldwide. As the world’s fastest-growing illegal business, human trafficking generates $150 billion annually, with almost 25 million people—mostly women and children—being trafficked every year.
Inspired by and named after the Underground Railroad, a network of underground tunnels that helped carry approximately 100,000 slaves to freedom in the north, O.U.R. operates in 25 countries, with plans to expand into new countries this year.
For more information about the Love Grenades and O.U.R. partnership, please contact Andrew Flach at 973-769-3914 or [email protected].
For more information about O.U.R., please contact Emily Evans at 310-903-0961or [email protected].