46 | Summer 2019
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Malouf Strives to Establish a Community On Watch WRITTEN BY JENNY
MATHEWS contributing writer
HUMAN TRAFFICKING — or modern slavery — is the action or practice of illegally transporting people from one area to another, typically for the purposes of forced labor or sexual exploitation. It is real and happening everywhere, even here in Cache Valley, and even to innocent children. It isn’t fun to think about, but if we don’t, this fast-growing $99 billion industry will continue to grow, continue to destroy lives, and continue to threaten safety. Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) began five and a half years ago when Tim Ballard, a former Central Intelligence Agency agent and Department of Homeland Security agent who spent over a decade assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and who was
deployed as an undercover operative for the U.S., decided that he had to find a way to do more. The mission of O.U.R. is to end child slavery. They provide training and resources to enhance law enforcement efforts around the globe. When Sam and Kacie Malouf, owners of Malouf, a locally based and multinational luxury bedding company, learned about O.U.R. and their mission, they created the Malouf Foundation to join the fight. While the Malouf Foundation also provides bedding and raises funds for many other charities and causes, partnership with O.U.R. is their flagship cause and something they are passionate about. According to their website, the Malouf
Foundation strives to “rescue and shelter sexually exploited and trafficked children and stop physical and sexual abuse, while supporting other humanitarian efforts.” The Malouf Foundation works to ensure every child lives with freedom, hope, justice, and dignity — and sleeps in a safe home. “Globally, human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world,” Malouf Foundation Communications Director Jake Neeley said when interviewed on our podcast, Breakfast Epiphanies, last month. “It is a $99 billion industry — that’s enough to buy every professional basketball, baseball, and football team, plus buy every Starbucks and send every kid to college. It is astronomical and
