Our next non-profit is inspired by one of my childhood heroes, Harriet Tubman. Sometime in middle school, I did a research paper on this fearless woman. Her heroic actions and commitment to loving others in a way that paralleled the love Jesus showed us, have inspired me ever since.
Harriet Tubman was a born a slave in Dorchester County, Maryland sometime around 1820. The name given to her at birth was Araminta Harriet Ross and her nickname was Minty. Her childhood was full of hardships that many of us can’t even fathom. Her family was fractured as their owners sold several of her siblings. Her father was freed at age 45 due to the stipulations of a previous owner, however he had no choice but to continue serving since his wife and children were still considered property. Physical violence was common and she often experienced beatings as a child. One of these beatings resulted in a head injury that left her with headaches, seizures and narcoleptic episodes throughout her lifetime. Harriet also reported having intense dreams that she described as spiritual in nature. It was these dreams, or visions, that contributed to her ultimate success as a conductor on the underground railroad.
“The earliest mention of the Underground Railroad came in 1831 when slave Tice Davids escaped from Kentucky into Ohio and his owner blamed an “underground railroad” for helping Davids to freedom.”
Harriet married John Tubman, a freed man in 1844. Not much is known about their marriage, except that John did not accompany Harriet when she made her journey to freedom on the Underground Railroad. He remained in Maryland and remarried. In 1849, one of Minty’s owners died and she began to fear that her family would suffer further hardship due to his passing. She was sickly and was an easy target for further violence or sale to another owner. So, she decided to escape to Philadelphia to gain her freedom. This was Minty’s first experience with the Underground Railroad. But it certainly was not her last.
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Minty, miraculously made the 90 mile trek to Philadelphia without capture. In the North, she became a free woman! It was then that she took the official name of Harriet Tubman. Harriet did not enjoy her freedom in the ways one would expect. In fact, she risked her freedom many times in order to help others gain theirs. Over the next chapter of her life, Harriet helped over 300 people escape slavery as a conductor on the underground railroad. This included many of her family members. Her seemingly miraculous trips from the North to the South and back were treacherous. Her faith and obedience to the visions she believed were of God, gave her confidence and direction as she went.
“Once she settled in the north she built a support network consisting of trusting black and white friends who would host and arrange transportation for fugitive slaves. From 1851 to 1860 she became the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad. In that decade she made 19 trips and liberated around 300 slaves, including her parents, relatives and friends. In every trip she made she risked her life. The passage of the Fugitive Slave Law as part of the Compromise of 1850 made her job more dangerous. She was a fugitive slave and she was helping others escape. Under the law anyone capturing her would be financially compensated.”
In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law was passed, allowing for escaped slaves to be hunted and captured by their owners. As a result, Harriet changed the route of the underground railroad, taking fugitives all the way to Canada! During the Civil War, she served as a spy for the Union Army when she worked as a cook and a nurse. She also became the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war. “She guided the Combahee River Raid, which liberated more than 700 slaves in South Carolina.” (Source).
About a decade later, Harriet bought some land in Auburn, New York. It was there that she spent the majority of her later years. In 1869, Tubman married Nelson Davis. He was a Civil War veteran. Later they adopted a baby girl named Gertie.
As she got older, the life-long side effects from her brain injury became worse and she had to undergo surgery to try to ease the pain. She was then admitted to a nursing home that was later renamed in her honor. Harriet died in 1913. She was in her early to mid 90s and was surrounded by friends and family.
Not sure what the 40-for-FORTY Campaign is all about?
Find out the details of this year long celebration, HERE!
Every time I think about this woman, my heart soars with INSPIRATION. Her ACTions ENCOURAGE me to stand up for what is right and to allow myself to be guided by faith not fear. It is people like her that GIVE of themselves and truly make this world a better place!
The amount of personal sacrifice and dedication to loving others is beyond my comprehension and yet something that I long for. I am incredibly thankful for Harriet and other individuals, in history who stepped up, saved lives and made a positive change in this world. That is why I chose this week’s non-profit …
International Justice Mission (IJM).
IJM is a modern day network of people who make sacrifices everyday to free people around the world from injustices like slavery. Some of you may ask, does slavery still exist? It sure does! It’s most common form these days is what the media calls Human Trafficking for sex and/or labor. But there are many other ways it is occurring around the world. IJM has teams all over the world that Rescue, Restore, Restrain, and Repair. Their work is just as vital today as Harriet’s was in the 1800s.
To learn more about IJM check out this informational packet.
40-for-FORTY is our way of celebrating and giving back. On March 28th, Lauren turned 40! Instead of feeling depressed about getting older, she was actually pretty excited to hit this milestone. Over the past 40 years, Lauren has encountered many people and organizations that INSPIRE and ENCOURAGE her to ACT and GIVE. In a world that is constantly changing and where we are bombarded with incessant media reminding us of uncertain times and pending catastrophes, she wants to make this YEAR all about highlighting the good. We plan to do this by sharing Stories of people and organizations that INSPIRE- ACT- ENCOURAGE- GIVE.
Our family has been supporting IJM for many years because we believe in the work they do around the world. Slavery exists in many forms and is very much alive and active around the world. International Justice Mission works tirelessly on multiple fronts to bring hope and provide freedom.
Now it is your turn to ACT and GIVE!
Prodigal Overland has made the initial $40 donation to
International Justice Mission and we challenge 40 more people to match it!
Together we can make a difference!
***No monies will be handled by Prodigal Overland. All donations are tax deductible and go directly to IJM. Prodigal Overland does not handle any monies and receives no benefits from promoting this organization, only the simple the joy in knowing that they are helping to make a dent in this massive quest to end slavery.***
More ways to you participate in the 40-for-FORTY Campaign:
1: DONATE $40 or more to one of the highlighted organizations. Here is the direct link to the IJM Page. To see other organizations highlighted in this campaign, look here.
2: NOMINATE an organization or non-profit to be highlighted in the 40-for-FORTY Campaign and share the story of the people or person behind it the INSPIRES and ENCOURAGES you. All Stories are to be 1,000 words or less. Please include contact information and a website link for the organization you are nominating. Email your nominations to contact@prodigaloverland.com
3: SUBSCRIBE to our mailing list for regular updates on the 40-for-FORTY Campaign and Prodigal Overland. (Click here to subscribe now.) You can also scroll to the bottom and subscribe there.
4: FOLLOW our Instagram Account for day to day happenings with Prodigal Overland. (Click here to Follow now). We are also on Youtube and Facebook.
5: CHALLENGE your friends by REPOSTING, SHARING and LIKING the 40-for-FORTY organizations/stories so that more people can participate and be INSPIREd and ENCOURAGEd. Use the hashtag #40forfortycampaign and we can repost and follow your stories.
6. ENCOURAGE people you know that Fight the Good Fight everyday, not for themselves, but for others. Look for ways to volunteer and help. This is a very difficult time for everyone given the global Covid-19 Pandemic. That is why the at-risk populations that many non-profits serve need our help more than ever! If you are interested in volunteering or finding other ways to support IJM you can find out more at www.ijm.org.
For further INSPIRATION by Harriet Tubman, I highly recommend the recent movie that was in theaters (https://youtu.be/GqoEs4cG6Uw). It was a beautiful tribute to her life! Biographical information was obtained from the following sources for the above text. These are also great resources for further learning! https://www.biography.com/activist/harriet-tubman , http://www.harriet-tubman.org/facts/ , and https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/harriet-tubman
Below are some of the other organizations that have been highlighted in the 40-for-FORTY Campaign. Check them out for more INSPIRING and ENCOURAGING stories, as well as more ways to GIVE and ACT.
All challenges are still active and we need your help to achieve our goals! Let’s make Lauren’s 40th year a year that has a significant positive impact on this world! If you don’t see your favorite non-profit listed, write us! WE would love to hear the story of the people or person that INSPIRES you and connects you with the non-profit and we would be delighted to highlight it in this campaign!
(**Please note: Prodigal Overland has sole discretion over the non-profits that are highlighted and we ask that nominations made are not for organizations that are exclusive to religion or politics)
It has been a few weeks since we have launched a new 40-for-FORTY fundraiser, so this week we thought we would highlight two organizations at the same time. In light of the current circumstances that our country has been facing, I wanted to highlight charities that support issues that I feel most tied to. As you already know from the last story we posted that highlighted the International Justice Mission and the life of Harriett Tubman, Justice and equal rights are important to me. There is so much I do not know and so much I still have to learn, but the reality is, there is a disparity in our country. Disparity between the rich and poor and disparity between races. The issues are complicated and there is no easy answer, but that does not mean we should not strive as individuals and families to right the wrongs.