The Students Opposing Slavery program at President Lincoln’s Cottage, a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, received the Presidential Award of Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons today at the meeting of the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the White House. The following is a statement from Stephanie K. Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation:

“We are honored by this significant recognition of one of our historic sites whose innovative work shines a light on modern slavery and educates young people about human trafficking. Every day the team at President Lincoln's Cottage uses our history to foster important conversations about the issues central to its namesake’s legacy.”

BACKGROUND ON STUDENTS OPPOSING SLAVERY

Students Opposing Slavery (SOS) is a youth education program for students dedicated to continuing Lincoln’s fight for freedom by raising awareness about modern slavery within a high-risk population – teenagers. A cornerstone of the SOS program is the week-long Students Opposing Slavery International Summit, which President Lincoln’s Cottage first launched in 2013. At the Summit, dozens of teenagers from around the world come together to gain resources and training to take action against human trafficking in their own communities. Started in 2012 by four teenagers who believed that they had a responsibility to do what they could to end slavery in their time, SOS has flourished under the auspices of President Lincoln’s Cottage. Today, SOS is a growing network of young abolitionists from around Washington, D.C., the nation, and the world who are working together to end slavery.