More than 300 people gathered at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa on Saturday to eat In-N-Out burgers and learn about the dangers of human trafficking.
The event was put together by In-N-Out owner and president Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson and her husband Sean Ellingson to benefit their cause, the Slave 2 Nothing Foundation. It was timed to take place during National Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
The event raised $433,000, Sean Ellingson announced, the most their fundraisers have made in January.
“It’s just a beautiful night to see the love, the care, the people rallying together, and knowing that in this small space lives are really, really changing,” said Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson. “And outside of this, it’s going to be huge.”
Speakers at Saturday’s event included Esther Goetsch, executive director of Truckers Against Trafficking, a Texas organization that she said has trained 1.5 million truck and bus drivers and energy workers, “industries that are out on the road,” to spot and report exploitation.
“Every industry has intersections with potential victims, because we say about human trafficking it’s a crime that happens in plain sight.,” she said. “Victims are often in our communities. They may be trafficked at night or on the weekends.”
That was the case with Rachel C.Thomas, a Pasadena native who told her story of being tricked and coerced into prostitution while a successful college student. She is now a member of the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.
Slave 2 Nothing raises money that it distributes to grass-roots organizations in the seven states where In-N-Out does business. It holds fundraisers in Orange County, including concerts to combat drug addiction at the House of Blues Anaheim in October, National Substance Abuse Prevention Month. The Ellingsons have performed with an In-N-Out garage band at those events.
Tickets started at $500 for Saturday’s casual dinner, which was held in the Hangar and its courtyard, where there were four food trucks from In-N-Out, plus other vendors such as Tacos 1986, Rad Coffee, Churro Boss and Longboards Ice Cream.
Funds were raised through a live auction and pledges made on cell phones that were instantaneously counted. A silent auction included several items donated by In-N-Out, including a tour of the chain’s new, soon-to-open warehouse in Chino.
In-N-Out will match donations to Slave 2 Nothing three-to-one through the end of the month, according to its website.
Information
Slave 2 Nothing: https://www.slave2nothing.org,
Truckers Against Trafficking: truckersagainsttrafficking.org
National Human Trafficking Prevention Month: state.gov/national-human-trafficking-prevention-month
Rachel Thomas: rachelcthomas.com
