Yeesh, sorry I've been so quiet, y'all! I have one very important bit I want to share with you, so I hope you'll read on.
I don't often get serious here, but this is something that means a lot to me.

If you already know what human trafficking is and want to help the victims of it, scroll down and click one of the images to donate.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please read on.

I'm often hesistant to do work for charities.
Not because I don't want to help, but because there are so many out there, so many people suffering, and I never know which ones need the most help, or how much I'm capable of helping them, or if the charity is even doing the right thing for its chosen victims.

This one is different.

About a month ago, Lora Innes of the (beautiful!) webcomic The Dreamer contacted a ton of talented artists regarding a problem more people need to know about: human trafficking.

I used to obsessively follow news articles detailing the unthinkable things that adults are STILL doing to young children, because I couldn't grasp that it was actually happening.
It is, guys, and it's happening daily, right now. Kids are being picked up and sold, mostly into forced prostitution, and it's not just some third-world problem. It happens everywhere.

I finally stopped reading the news because it would strike too hard, too many times every week, and I felt like I couldn't do anything to help.

Lora has made it easy to help. She's compiled drawings by 87 cartoonists of their female characters into one enormous, striking image that, when you donate via the Comic Creator's Alliance website, you can download as a wallpaper.

All donations are sent to Love146 and Gracehaven, two charities Lora chose which are working toward both the prevention of trafficking, and the aftercare of those who have been victims of it.

What really struck me about Gracehaven (which is in Ohio, because YES, it happens in freaking OHIO) and Love146 was the efforts they're making to help restore the lives of the young women who have been rescued from slavery.
I was especially impressed by this video, which forgoes the typical gut-reaction tactics so many charities use, and instead focuses on what they want to do to help.

If nothing else, donate to get the wallpaper - when I say that it's striking, I'm being tame. Every artists' work in this hi-res collaboration is of such high quality I was nervous to add Hazel and Jamie to it!
Both images below will redirect you to the same donation page, so just click on either one.

Remember to hit the "update total" button when you type in how much you'd like to donate, and then "Return to Donations Coordinator" once the transaction is complete to access the wallpaper.

You can read more here, and check out an article by change.org about the CCA's efforts here.

Oh, and check here for a full list of all of the creators and characters involved.
There's art in here by Lar deSouza of Least I Could Do, Randy Milholland of Something*Positive, and arah Ellerton of The Phoenix Requiem, just to name a few!

Thanks in advance for your help. The characters in GWS are reflections of the normal, healthy sexual exploration that we as non-victims have the privilege of enjoying in our adult lives.
To help even one child avoid the trauma of sexual slavery is to support healthy attitudes toward sex and love everywhere.