Around one-thousand people showed up to McLane Stadium for Saturday's Light Up the Dark 5K Run and Walk.
The family-friendly event put on by UnBound Waco was held to unite the local community against human trafficking.
People from all over the area showed up to the run to not only exercise, but to shed light on the issue.
Susan Peters, the executive director of UnBound, says the Central Texas community can protect some of its most vulnerable by standing together against trafficking.
"Waco is not immune to it. There's just a lot of human trafficking going around in all of our cities. And so it's something we want to be proactive about and say ‘not in our city,’” Peters said.
The event raised almost $15,000 to go towards educating youth in the area about the dangers traffickers pose.
“Obviously, human trafficking is a very dark subject, but when the community comes together and we shed light on it…we can light up the darkness,” Peters said. “So it’s really something that can be positive because we are being proactive about protecting our community.”
Funds earned will also provide aid in the training of professional medical workers, social workers, lawyers, and teachers, as well as provide advocacy service to survivors of human trafficking.
To learn more information about UnBound Waco and the topic of human trafficking, you can visit their website.
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