Fundraisers couldn't generate financial resources without generous donors, and nonprofits couldn't perform their philanthropic work without fundraisers.

Four months after presenting its Hope for Freedom Gala, Hope.Inspire.Love. will conduct the second of its two yearly fundraisers, Freedom Walk, on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Musser Park, 135 N. Lime St., Lancaster. Hope.Inspire.Love is in its eighth year of battling human trafficking and sexual exploitation, and the event is designed to raise money for the fight against human trafficking and to raise the awareness of its effects.

"Fundraising is vital. It's the glue," said Hope.Inspire.Love CEO and president Amy Thurston, who founded the organization with her husband, Steve. "Nonprofits rely on the community. We need their support financially. The survivors know the community is behind their healing, and we're in the backyard of the community. I literally am sitting here every day thinking, 'We could do so much if we had more funding.'"

The Freedom Walk is a 2-mile walk carried out silently through the streets of Lancaster city, beginning and ending in Musser Park. In 2022, the walk raised $20,000 for the mission of Hope.Inspire.Love., and this year, Thurston is hoping to raise that and $5,000 more.

"We walk on the sidewalk, in single file, in silence," said Thurston. "There's something bold about silence. Actions don't need words. That's why we do it."

"It's a next step for people to learn about our organization," Thurston continued. "People are walking for people who have been enslaved. It's beautiful because we have survivors who attend. It says, 'We're all in this fight together. Let's do better.'"

Founded in 2019, the Freedom Walk will have its fourth iteration this year. In 2022, some 200 individuals took part in the event. Thurston would like to see that number rise to 250 or 300 participants this time around.

Since its inception, the Freedom Walk has included live music at the park to enhance its atmosphere and a survivors' tent for people to learn firsthand about the devastating effects of human trafficking.

"The reality is that (human trafficking) has affected all of us in the community in different ways," said Thurston. "It takes a community to fight it. What we've realized is that a lot of people want to help. The Freedom Walk allows people to serve. This Freedom Walk has power."

Hope.Inspire.Love. seeks to combat sex trafficking and sexual exploitation through trauma-informed mentorship, outreach and awareness and prevention education.

"Our (mission) isn't a short-term relationship; it's a long-term solution," Thurston said. "We started with prevention and education. But I said, 'We've got to do more.' As we've evolved, we've added more staff. We developed our mentoring program and our job skills training. I think we've grown more than we expected."

For additional information about the Freedom Walk or to register, go to http://www.hopeinspirelove.org/freedomwalk.