It all started with one store in Bend, Oregon.

Today, more than 50,000 convenience stores have Freedom Stickers in restrooms that tell victims of human trafficking that there is hope—and help.

Ten years ago, a friend approached Kent Couch, who at the time operated the one-store Stop and Go Mini Mart/Shell in Bend, Oregon, with a question: Can you put a sign in the restroom that provides a hotline for victims of human trafficking?

“I couldn’t say no. But I said, ‘I don’t have a trafficking problem in my neighborhood. We operate in a nice, upscale area,’” said Couch.

Shortly after that conversation, Couch put signs with a nice frame—to make them look store-sanctioned—in both restrooms. Within days, one of the signs was ripped off the wall and tossed aside. A replacement sign met the same fate.

“It was shocking that traffickers destroyed the signs because they didn’t want their victims to see the number and dial it,” said Couch. “It was such an eye-opener for me to see that it’s happening in my store in a high-income area. It is happening in my backyard.”

The sign was produced by the aptly named group In Our Backyard, which at the time was a regional organization that addressed trafficking. The group’s founder, Nita Belles, saw convenience stores as part of the answer.

“In our work, we kept hearing from survivors themselves that they had a convenience store story, whether in purchasing items or using the restroom,” said Belles.

Belles realized that there was a moment of opportunity to reach a survivor. “They walk in and are tired and feel that no one sees them. Signage in a convenience store restroom tells them that people care about them and that there is a solution,” she said. 

Couch told Belles that the program could scale nationwide if NACS were to get involved. The ensuing partnership with NACS led to dramatically increased industry awareness and the creation of Convenience Stores Against Trafficking (CSAT), which has placed well more than a million Freedom Stickers across the country, including at more than 50,000 convenience stores. The National Human Trafficking Hotline number (888-373-7888) is prominently displayed on the Freedom Stickers.

“And then from there [after that initial launch], I’ve been able to step back and watch it all blossom. NACS has done a great job educating store operators,” said Couch.

An Industry Mission

In Our Backyard Executive Director Cheryl Csiky said the convenience store industry’s response to the anti-trafficking campaign was immediate. 

“In that first launch of our c-store program [in 2017], we had over 5,000 stores sign up, which told us there was a great fit,” Csiky said. “Store owners said, ‘What can I do right now to help make trafficking stop, and take action?’ The response was overwhelming.”

In addition to NACS, CSAT has worked with nearly 200 c-store companies and 17 state associations. 

Couch said the program has not just changed lives but also changed the industry’s overall reputation. 

“We get beat up for being the guys that have 24-hour operations or sell products that some people don’t like. This shows how important we are to communities,” he said.

Unfortunately, traffickers have found new avenues for luring potential victims. Red Cross volunteers have told NACS that traffickers are increasingly showing up at shelters in areas that suffer natural disasters, preying on people who are feeling lost or desperate. 

Traffickers are also active at major sporting events. Events such as the Super Bowl are exciting for attendees, including young people. Traffickers know that and seek victims at activities around these events. For more than 15 years, In Our Backyard has hosted an event a week before the Super Bowl, in whichever city is hosting the event, to find young people who are missing and in danger of being trafficked. As part of the event, volunteers visit convenience stores and bodegas to share Missing Children Outreach booklets, which provide images of and details about several dozen children at risk. The idea is that employees in c-stores are the eyes and ears of communities and are most likely to help spot missing kids. By the end of a typical campaign, roughly half of the children are located. Georgia-based retailers Clipper Petroleum and Jet Foods, along with BP, are supporters of the program, and NACS also participates. 

“We wouldn’t be where we are without the tremendous support of the convenience store community. The convenience store industry’s support has allowed us to empower 5,000 volunteers over the past 10 years to walk into those mom-and-pop stores throughout the country and find missing children,” said Csiky.

Other Groups Making a Difference

Convenience Stores Against Trafficking is just one of several groups working with the c-store industry. All of these programs lean into the strengths of the industry: C-stores are in every community, conduct daily transactions with roughly half of the population and are open for extended hours of operation—and may be the only open, accessible place when someone is seeking help.

The National Safe Place Network provides access to immediate help and safety for young people in crisis, addressing problems before someone becomes trafficked. Safe Place locations, including more than 900 QuikTrip stores, display a distinctive yellow and black Safe Place sign that signals to youth in crisis that they can access a path to safety and services at that site. 

Over the past year, QuikTrip has facilitated hundreds of Safe Place calls, ensuring youth in need can access services and care in times of crisis. QuikTrip also supports 24 Safe Place partner agencies across the country with annual charitable giving and grants for communities.

“Unfortunately, young people face troubling issues in today’s world, such as abuse, neglect, bullying and serious family problems,” said Laurie Jackson Padilla, president and CEO of National Safe Place Network. “It’s up to all of us to offer solutions, places where youth can go to get help. We are honored to have this longstanding partnership with QuikTrip, [a company that] serves as a vital piece of the safety net for young people.”

NACS also has developed outreach materials, including the Human Trafficking Awareness Guide for Convenience Retail Employees, in a partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign. NACS took part in Homeland Security’s two-day anti-trafficking-awareness event in January 2025 and has been a regular contributor to other events. 

“Convenience retailers can play a significant role in combating human trafficking because of their presence in virtually every community. ... They are in a unique position to observe indicators of human trafficking while working,” said Jonathan Barry, who was coordinator of the Blue Campaign when its partnership with NACS was announced several years ago.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is best known for its Milk Carton Kids outreach campaign to help find missing kids. That campaign was a huge success in raising awareness, but as technology has advanced, so has NCMEC’s outreach—and success. Today, NCMEC’s QR codes allow anyone to see missing children within a specific geofenced area—and the codes are updated continually. In addition, NCMEC works with GSTV, which provides video content on fueling dispensers, to broadcast geofenced videos of missing kids; of the 730 kids that have been featured, a remarkable 510 have come home.

NCMEC also has free online training that includes a unique section on trafficking and trauma, which provides valuable insight for store employees on behavioral indicators to watch for.

Truckers Against Trafficking is supported by many of the major truck stop operators—including Pilot Flying J, TravelCenters of America, Love’s, Rush Truck Centers and Sapp Bros.—as well as other travel-related organizations. It’s focused on expanding existing relationships with partners and has done in-person trainings with travel center employees to help them spot and address human trafficking situations.