NASHVILLE, TN. July 30, 2010 - In a fight against modern-day slavery, last week INO Records' Sara Groves joined the International Justice Mission (IJM) and 5 Weeks of Freedom team as they rode 70 miles through Nashville as part of the organization's 1,800-mile bike ride through the historic Underground Railroad.

"We had an amazing day with the IJM riders," said Groves. "The dedication of these friends was staggering.  They are really putting themselves in extreme conditions to identify in a small way what trafficked victims go through.  Appreciate them letting us tag along for a day".

Groves has been a long-time supporter of IJM. In April 2009, she traveled to Washington, D.C. on behalf of the organization to advocate for victims of human trafficking, meeting with the offices of Minnesota Congress and Senate Aides.

 

IJM is a human rights agency that brings rescue to victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. In support of IJM's work, 5 Weeks for Freedom is a major awareness and advocacy campaign to give a voice to victims of modern-day slavery and other forms of injustice. Additional information about these efforts can be found at www.ijm.org.

Since her debut release in 2001, Conversations, Sara Groves has become one of the most critically-acclaimed artists in the Christian music industry, receiving rave reviews across the board for each recording by the likes of Billboard, and consistently topping year-end reader's polls and album of the year nods from the likes of CCM magazine, Christianity Today online and more.  On her latest album, Fireflies & Songs, her most personal recording to date, Groves expands on her life lessons and struggles including she and her husband's determined efforts to nurture other marriages by being open about their own shortcomings and lessons learned. Since her 2005 release Add to the Beauty, Groves has been immersed in a series of global conversations and experiences, from the flood-ravaged gulf of Louisiana, to the genocide memorials of Rwanda, to the testimonies of Southeast Asia sex trade survivors. These experiences showed the disparity between some of the American pursuits of comfort and wealth and the joy of joining the difficult work of social justice and engaging in the suffering of the afflicted.