Human trafficking gets attention from Google
(CBS) - Google announced Wednesday it gave $115 million to several non-profit and academic organizations in 2011, including $11.5 million for the fight against human trafficking.
"Our support will free more than 12,000 people from modern-day slavery, and prevent millions more from being victimized," Google said on their website.
Organizations that will benefit this year include the International Justice Mission, The BBC World Service Trust and the Polaris Project.
"Having a company like Google recognize the value of our work marks a major turning point for the anti-slavery movement. To date, the movement has relied heavily on anecdote and emotion. Google's support allows us greater empiricism, making us all the more successful. We are proud that Google shares our vision that technology and data can be uniquely effective in creating a tipping point in the movement," founder and chief executive officer of Slavery Footprint Justin Dillon said in a statement.
Modern day slavery claims 27 million men, women and children around the world. Human trafficking is defined as luring vulnerable people by means of deception, abduction or coercion. Usually, the victim is trapped into forced labor, sexual exploitation or services.
Google's philanthropic efforts branch out to other areas, as well. Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education will get some help from the search engine giant. Girls' education organizations will also benefit from donations.
Google.org, the company's philanthropic arm, has enabled over $1 billion in donations via in-kind programs. The organization boasts Googlers spent more than 40,000 paid hours volunteering for programs like career coaching for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and consultations for Women's Initiative for Self Employment.
