Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Extreme Love Ministries. If you don’t find an answer to your question in this list, please feel free to submit one in the form at the bottom of the page. This list will grow over time in response to some of the questions we receive.

Are my contributions tax-deductible?
Where is ELM located?
Can I visit and participate in ministry efforts in these places?
I care deeply about women and children trapped in brothels, and I’ve seen documentaries of how trained teams conduct raids to free them. I have some military (or other) training, so can I join your raid team so that I can help free more?
Does ELM accept short-term volunteers?
Does ELM offer paid positions?
I’d like to purchase products that will also help ELM and those who benefit from the ministry’s activities. Do you have a website that offers that?
Do you offer sponsorships for children?
Do you have current pressing needs?
How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected ELM’s work?
Do you work with men also?
Do you receive government grants or other public financial assistance?
How do people become victims of human trafficking?

Q:   Are my contributions tax-deductible?
A:  ELM is a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) charity, which means that yes, donations are tax deductible for U.S. taxpayers (Note: if you receive a product or service from ELM in exchange for a donation, however, the value of those items will be subtracted from the total amount, leaving a deductable portion that qualifies for a charity donation. Similar laws apply for Canadian donations.

Q:    Where is ELM located?
A:    ELM administrative offices are located in Maricopa, Arizona, but ELM’s director as well as ministry operations are based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Work has also begun in Iraq and Vietnam, and is expected to grow into neighboring countries in Southeast Asia as God provides opportunities and resources.

Q:    Can I visit and participate in ministry efforts in these places?
A:    Absolutely! Currently ELM organizes and/or facilitates teams from other nations for short vision trips to witness and participate in ministry work in Cambodia (trips are not currently offered to countries other than Cambodia). To protect rescued victims from re-exploitation, however, some restrictions are necessary. Click here to learn more.

Q:    I care deeply about women and children trapped in brothels, and I’ve seen documentaries of how teams conduct raids to free them. I have some military (or similar) training, so would I be able to participate in rescues?
A:    The practice of raiding brothels to rescue women and children is largely a thing of the past due to increased danger and diminished effectiveness of that strategy in recent years. That’s because without a robust infrastructure of aftercare, skills training, and a change of entrenched cultural values and thinking, victims are too easily exploited again. Instead, we believe that long-term relationship building in at-risk communities has been shown to be the most effective strategy for the prevention, rescue and restoration of trafficked persons.

Q:    Does ELM accept short-term volunteers?
A:    Yes, provided they successfully complete our application process and a place of ministry is available when applying. Click here for more information.

Q:    Does ELM offer paid positions?
A:    Yes, full- and part-time paid staff positions are sometimes available. Click here for more information.

Q:    I’d like to purchase products that will help women (or men) who have been exploited through trafficking or prostitution. Do you have a website that offers that?
A:    Yes, Everlasting Love (EL), a ministry of ELM, trains persons who were formerly trafficked or in prostitution to create high-end jewelry, clothing and accessories. Proceeds from sales provide income for the artisans, and also help train these skills to new students. Click here to visit our store!

Q:    Do you offer sponsorships for children?
A:    Yes, we offer sponsorships that provide for the education of at-risk children living in the slums of Phnom Penh who might otherwise not be able to attend school. Sponsorship pays for incidental school fees, uniforms, shoes, backpacks, school supplies, and special ELM-organized events and programs. We also offer lunch sponsorships, which pay for student lunches. These programs also provide opportunities to reach kids with the gospel and disciple them. Click here to learn more.

Q:    Do you have current pressing needs?
A:    Yes, click here to see a range of regularly-occuring needs, or click here to send a gift to where it’s currently most needed.

Q:    How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect ELM’s work?
A:    Thankfully the pandemic is now over, but the challenges it presented were many, such as how to help children continue to learn while schools were closed for long periods (remote learning was not a viable option for most), but God used that time of crisis to open many doors of ministry, for which we are thankful. For over two years pandemic restrictions prevented teams from visiting Cambodia, and hampered our efforts to expand work in Iraq and Vietnam. Cambodia is now open, however, and we’re actively scheduling visiting teams! Click here to learn more.

Q:    Do you work with men also?
A:    Yes, men are also at risk of being trafficked, primarily into dangerous labor jobs. Whenever we encounter men in vulnerable circumstances (physically, emotionally, spiritually or economically), we try to help them get to a place of safety, especially if they have families who depend on them.

Q:    Do you receive government grants or other public financial assistance?
A:    No, ELM is a faith-based 501(c)(3) charity that relies fully on partners who share our vision, see our work, and want to participate in the joyful process of bringing God’s redemptive love into the neediest places. We do that by focusing on the lives of the “least of these” (see Matthew 25) who are vulnerable, currently in situations of abuse or exploitation, or recovering from the traumas they experienced as a result of being trafficked.

Q:    How do people become victims of human trafficking?
A:    In most cases, women and children (and men) who become victims of human trafficking do so during a time of great vulnerability. The most common characteristics of the vulnerable are extreme poverty (either chronic poverty, or that which results suddenly from a natural or manmade disaster), ignorance (lacking formal education, or unaware of the schemes of evil people), or being in a place of real or perceived desperation. Many are deceived by lies about opportunities for a good job or fame, but many do so willingly due to extreme cultural pressures (to support the family) or a vague false hope in a better future via the path of great sacrifice, such as someone who willingly enters prostitution. (Click here to learn more.)

 

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