On Saturday, May 18, Officer Andrew Linder’s cross country journey will finally come to an end. Officer Linder, a current law enforcement officer in Washington, DC, has been running cross country with a 15-pound weighted vest to raise awareness of human trafficking. He is the first person to run across America wearing a 15-pound weighted vest.
Officer Linder began his journey at the Santa Monica Pier in California and is ending it in Central Park in New York City. All proceeds are going to Sisters Rising Worldwide, an anti-human trafficking organization.
Linder says his reasoning for going into law enforcement was “to be able to have an impact in the epidemic of human trafficking. Being able to raise awareness for a cause I’m so passionate about and impact hundreds of thousands along the way fuels me every day to train for such a feat.” He worked 600 hours of overtime to be able to take time off for this brutal run.
Officer Linder’s dedication and commitment to fighting this crime against humanity is truly an inspiration, and we at LifeWay recognize him and applaud his work!
Like Officer Linder, LifeWay Network is fighting human trafficking in other ways. We’ve offered short-term emergency stays to survivors since 2009 and have been operating long-term transitional safe houses since 2012, granting harbor to more than 150 women from 38 countries thus far. In our safe housing program, we provide survivors of trafficking not just a place to live, but a home. We also provide support from social workers, mental health counseling, legal support and connections to educational and job training opportunities.
LifeWay Network also offers an anti-trafficking education program with free public presentations on human trafficking awareness, as well as advocacy for legislation to benefit trafficking survivors.
You can fight the spread of the world’s fastest growing criminal enterprise by supporting organizations such as LifeWay Network. And you can contribute to Andrew Linder’s incredible effort at piertopark.com. Follow his progress and news coverage of his run (up to 40 miles a day for months!) on the Pier to Park Instagram. You can also cheer his arrival Saturday at around 10:30 a.m. near the American Museum of Natural History in Central Park. We’ll be there celebrating Officer Linder’s achievement!
May 14, 2024
By Beatrice Johnson