Today is a great day, not only because I am celebrating becoming an advocate for Destiny Rescue but it’s a momentous day for them as they celebrate their 3000th rescue from the sex trafficking trade.
Becoming an advocate
It’s a beautiful morning here in Bondi, as I sit on my sofa, the winter sun beaming through the windows, with my coffee mug in hand I start to think about exactly what I’m doing, what I’m supposed to do, and why is this so important me.
A few months ago, I made the decision to join Destiny Rescue as an advocate. This was following a heart-breaking presentation given to my work by Sales Manager, Tim Howard and Corporate Partnerships Manager, Angela Arena. It was truly emotional and just pulled on my heart strings, I wanted to hold these children and I didn’t want to just give money, I wanted to give my time.
Why Destiny Rescue?
Founded by Tony Kirwan, Destiny Rescue is an Australian charity set up to rescue children from the sex trafficking trade. With operations in Thailand, Cambodia, India, the Philippines and Dominican Republic they began rescuing children in 2006. Did you know that human trafficking is the fastest growing crime industry and around the world 45.8 million people are enslaved and around 2 million are children?
Most of the Destiny Rescue survivors come through their undercover operations. Agents posing as customers in the local bars and brothels, gaining trust and showing these kids there is a way out. It’s all about timing and it takes a lot time to build up trust, many of these little ones have been sold by their parents, they are just a commodity and sadly they just don’t know any different.
A more holistic life view
I’m grateful to work at Six Degrees Executive, where people are actively encouraged to give back in any way that they can. Having said this, I was still quite nervous about telling my Director I wanted to move down to a 9-day fortnight and dedicate 1 whole day of my time to this cause. What would he think? That I’m not 100% committed to my job? I mean, recruitment is a tough gig and for those of you in the industry, you know all too well that we don’t have an “off” switch, It’s 24/7. Even bang in the middle of writing this I had a client call me to chat through a resume!
It helps that Six Degrees take such a holistic approach to workplace flexibility, acknowledging and actively encouraging our personal focus outside of the office. So, while I am still 100% committed to my day job, it’s equally important to me to be able to make a difference and give back to the less fortunate, doing my part to support the efforts of a worthy organisation.
As a recruiter, my focus has shifted towards the Education, Government and Not for Profit and sectors. So, it’s beneficial to my career to keep up to speed with the latest trends and insights in the Not for Profit sector. Not to mention the personal fulfilment of being able to align my social and career values.
Life balance
I encourage anyone who is thinking that they’d like more flexibility or work-life balance to chat it through with your boss. Whether it’s parenting or volunteering, or even a mental health day, it’s super important to recognise exactly what matters to you and how you can be better focussed at work when you are there.
A recent Ernst and Young study of almost 10,000 people found that more flexibility beat out just about all other perks when looking for a new job. I am totally pumped about the next phase of my journey and I would love you to join me as I blog about this wonderful cause.
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