Getting to Know Emily Meacham: CRC’s Director of Development
It’s Women’s Month, and we’re pulling back the curtain to introduce some of the selfless women who keep things running behind the scenes!
Meet: Emily Meacham. Emily is the Director of Development for Child Rescue Coalition, and is the woman behind CRC’s philanthropic strategy.
While no day is typical when you’re working toward rescuing children from unspeakable abuse, Emily can usually be found building relationships with our generous donors, putting your donations to use for the purpose of child protection, and working tirelessly to further our mission of protecting the innocence of children through technology.
Get to know Emily and why she thinks we should all be passionate about protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.
What inspires you to work for non-profit organizations?
I was inspired because I wanted to dedicate my life to do good in the world. I wanted to be a part of being a changemaker.
Why did you choose the child protection space?
I chose child protection because of my background working for nonprofits in the fight to end human/sex trafficking. Childhood sexual abuse is one of the known root causes of sex trafficking.
The work in that space, to me, didn’t feel like a job but a passion – the reason I was put on this earth. Knowing the common root cause of sex trafficking led me to the child protection space. If I could help or be a part of the solution to prevent childhood sexual abuse, in the long run I know it would help prevent many other areas that fall under that umbrella.
It could help save a child’s life, it can prevent trafficking, it can help with childhood trauma, and much more. This is an issue that I call “a hidden pandemic”, and not enough people are talking about what is really going on in the real world. This is a HUGE issue that isn’t happening in the country overseas but a horrific issue that is happening in our own cities, towns, and backyards. This is happening by the hands of people we know, love, and trust.
So why aren’t we talking about it more? Why aren’t we doing more to stop it? To fight against it? That is why I love doing what I do.
I’m here to raise my voice, to help be a voice for the voiceless, to make my impact on protecting innocent children who cannot protect themselves.
What do you want people to know about Child Rescue Coalition?
CRC is a nonprofit that everyone should know about. When I first met Carly Yoost, I was completely compelled by the work Child Rescue Coalition is doing.
Being in the nonprofit space, it’s easy to recognize the nonprofits that are out there truly making big moves and coming up with solutions to big world problems.
The technology CRC uses is unmatched, you can see the difference the tech is making in protecting children by our stats. CRC offers its technology completely free to law enforcement. I think it should make people feel better that there are amazing nonprofits out there dedicating their life’s mission to protecting children.
Why should someone who doesn’t have children care about child sexual abuse and support CRC?
You should care because this is a cause that everyone should be fighting for, kids or no kids. Even though I currently do not have any children, I want to know that there are organizations out there protecting my future kids, my friends’ kids, my nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, etc.
Just think, if one child was being sexually abused it would be too much. But the reality is that hundreds of thousands, that’s right, as many as 400,000 babies born in the U.S. this year will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday unless we do something to stop it.
This is something we need to focus more attention on as a community and as a nation of people.
What is one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
I’m originally from Washington State. I got started working for a nonprofit whose mission was to end anti human trafficking by coincidence, and after I accepted my first job working to combat human trafficking, I knew I was meant to be there. That was the moment I knew I would be working in this industry for the rest of my life.
Will you join Emily in this fight? For just $25/month, you can become a Coalition Club member and stand up to the tragic abuse thousands of children encounter every day. You’ll directly contribute to the lifesaving work we do here at Child Rescue Coalition, which has led to the arrest of 14,300 sexual predators (and counting) around the globe.
You can make a one-time donation or discover other ways to get involved in our mission here.