Former NFL star Tim Tebow recently spoke in front of Congress to plead for more resources to help the most vulnerable population, children being exploited online.
On March 7 Tebow sat in front of Congress to talk about children that are being sexually exploited online, including the 50,000 that are unknown.
"Until someone knows them, how could someone rescue them?" says Tebow. "We convened a meeting and Leon France with amazing front line heroes; Homeland Security, Interpol, Europol, Google; so many people came to the table with two goals. The first one, how many boys and girls are unknown and unidentified? The second goal is how do we protect them?"
Working alongside so many different organizations they launched 'Operation Renewed Hope.' Led by HSI, these professionals were able to identify and rescue 316 out of the 50,000 children.
"It was an incredible operation but that's a tiny dent. Why we're here today is to be able to ask you to say yes to a bill that we're going to present. This bill really has one goal; to build a rescue team."
Tebow shared how the frontline workers in this field are hardworking people, but that there is a need for many more.
"This bill is to create a rescue team that has the funding, the support, the training, the technology so that they can get to these 50,000."
According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, in 2022 they received 32 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation.
"I've had the privilege of playing for a lot of sports teams," says Tebow. "In almost all of them, we've had incredible resources to give us a better chance at winning a game. Something that ultimately, as much as we care about it, doesn't matter. Why would we give as much if not more resources to the frontline heroes that are going after the most vulnerable boys and girls on the planet? We have a chance to bring hope to those that are starving for it."
During the time in front of the mic, Tebow read words from a girl who had been sexually exploited for the past seven years, starting with "Rescue me."
"Answer the call. Because every single one of those boys and girls is worth us answering the call and doing everything we can so that they can experience the faith, hope, and love that they deserve. Not the bondage and torture that they're in right now."
Tebow saw evidence of the team's work when he recently got a message from a girl they rescued, thanking him for setting her free.
"It was humbling to get that. But if all I do today is speak, I miss the mark."