Denver woman, 64, taking 1956 Porsche 356A to Antarctica to raise awareness about child trafficking (2024)

close

Video

64-yr-old mom taking 1956 Porsche 356A to Antarctica to help fight child trafficking

Renée Brinkerhoff has been racing around the world and now she's heading to the ends of the earth to help raise awareness about child trafficking.

RenéeBrinkerhoff is on the road trip of a lifetime.

Denver woman, 64, taking 1956 Porsche 356A to Antarctica to raise awareness about child trafficking (2)

(Valkyrie Racing)

The Denver-based mother of four took up classic car road rallying eight years ago and is still at it at age 64, having visited six continents in a 1956 Porsche 356A that shares her birth year.

“It was basically a one-liner that I’d been telling myself for over thirty years and I finally heard that voice in my head. One day I’m going to race a car” she told Fox News Autos.

“It was a have-to, not a want-to.”

Denver woman, 64, taking 1956 Porsche 356A to Antarctica to raise awareness about child trafficking (3)

(Valkyrie Racing)

So she found the car, which she says was a trailer queen when she bought it, and had it built into a racing machine that could handle the week-long 2013 La Carrera Panamericana rally in Mexico, where she finished first in her class and got the bug.

“I felt all these things I’ve never felt. I learned about who I was as a person. It totally changed who I was,” she said.

“I only intended to go race one time, that was it. Go do that thing you told yourself you gotta go do. But it got a life of its own.”

Brinkerhoff returned to Mexico and also started entering other races. Then something else happened that changed her life.

Denver woman, 64, taking 1956 Porsche 356A to Antarctica to raise awareness about child trafficking (4)

(Valkyrie Racing)

She met an FBIagent working to track human traffickers involved in prostitution and child pornography and became interested in the subject, which soon hit her in the face. On a bus ride to a rental car agency, she noticed a man beside her was looking at what appeared to be child pornography on his phone and felt it was a sign.

“I don't believe there's an accident. Someone was knocking on my door and I was supposed to do something about it,” she said.

That’s when her rallying took a turn.

“I didn’t like to talk too much about my racing, I’m a little shy about that, but my husband, my family would bring it up with friends and then we’d see their mouth drop open and their eyes start getting big and you realize they’re listening to me,” she said.

She turned her hobby into Valkyrie Racing and launched the Project 356 World RallyTour to raise awareness about child trafficking and money to help fight it, working with aid groups around the world, including Kenya'sHAART Foundation in Kenya and The Exodus Road in Colorado.

Denver woman, 64, taking 1956 Porsche 356A to Antarctica to raise awareness about child trafficking (5)

Renée and Christina met with the HAART Foundation in Kenya while they were in the country for the East African Safari Classic Rally.

Along with the La Carrera Panamericana, the team has entered the Targa Tasmania in Australia, the East African Safari Classic Rally -- where her daughter Christinajoined her as navigator – the Caminos del Inca in Peru and the month-long Peking-to-Paris race across Asia and Europe.

The effort has raised over $200,000 for charity so far, but the goal is $1 million, and she’s going to the ends of the earth to reach it.

Denver woman, 64, taking 1956 Porsche 356A to Antarctica to raise awareness about child trafficking (6)

(Google Earth)

The next stop on the tour is Antarctica’s Union Glacier, where she’ll drive the Porsche on a 356-mile route she mapped out with polar adventurer Jason De Carteret. The Brit holds the record for the fastest overland trip to the South Pole along with Kieron Bradley, a chassis engineer for Lotus who is currently getting the Porsche ready for the trip, which will mark the first time one of the brand’s cars has ever visited the continent.

Denver woman, 64, taking 1956 Porsche 356A to Antarctica to raise awareness about child trafficking (7)

(Valkyrie Racing)

It’s being converted with tracks, skis, solar panels and a front crevasse bar to keep it from falling into hidden cracks in the ice. When it’s complete in October, it’ll be put on a ship and sent to Chile, from where the team will fly with it to Antarctica early next year for a race against the clock to the tour’s finish line.

Denver woman, 64, taking 1956 Porsche 356A to Antarctica to raise awareness about child trafficking (8)

The Porsche will feature front skis and a red livery when it is complete. (Valkyrie Racing)

Brinkerhoff said they’ll need to put the finishing touches on it and test it at the location before they head out with a support vehicle following them, and they only have three weeks to complete the trip before the plane returns to pick them up.

“Actually doing the 356 miles should not take more than three or four days, but we have to allow for weather. We could be in a whiteout for a week. We don't know what we're going to come across,” she said.

Brinkerhoff, whosefamily runs a successful restaurant business in Denver, didn't reveal exactly how much all of this will cost, but that "it's my nest egg," and along with the transportation requires a large bond to ensure that every single thing they bring in, they bring out.

"We've set this goal and we have to finish," she said.

If all goes to plan, when they get back to the blue ice runway they’ll reinstall the wheels and tires and establish an Antarctic land speed record before they pack up and head home. But don’t expect her or the Porsche to stay there for long. Brinkerhoffsaid people have suggested she put it in a museum, but she has different ideas.

“I want to keep racing it. It's a car that's got to be driven and have new adventures and break more boundaries and see different places and achieve new things. So I can't imagine it being on display somewhere.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Denver woman, 64, taking 1956 Porsche 356A to Antarctica to raise awareness about child trafficking (2024)

FAQs

What is the movie for child trafficking awareness? ›

While dramatized, “Sound of Freedom” is a powerful movie with the ability to unite us on the global issue of human trafficking. With your newfound awareness gained from the film, knowing accurate information about child exploitation and human trafficking is the next step to effectively fight this unimaginable crime.

How to help prevent child trafficking? ›

Ten Things You Can Do To Help Stop Human Trafficking
  1. Know the facts. Find out how human trafficking happens in the United States . ...
  2. Seek help. ...
  3. Increase training. ...
  4. Speak out. ...
  5. Take action in your community. ...
  6. Stay current.
Dec 29, 2023

How many child trafficking victims are there in the US? ›

Every 2 minutes a child is sold into trafficking. 4.8 Million people are victims of sex trafficking today. 300,000 American children are victims of commercial sexual exploitation each year.

What is child trafficking in the United States? ›

Under federal criminal law, child sex trafficking—also referred to as “domestic minor sex trafficking,” “commercial sexual exploitation of minors,” or even inappropriately “the prostitution of children2”—is defined as the recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, obtaining, advertising, maintaining, ...

What is the number one child trafficking state? ›

California seems to keep the first place in 15 top states for human trafficking in 2019 as well. Not only it precedes every other country but the number of reported cases is quite higher compared to the second top trafficking state, Texas, as we have seen.

What is the name of the new movie about child trafficking? ›

Sound of Freedom (2023) - IMDb.

Where is child trafficking most common in the world? ›

Regionally, child trafficking is quite common in Africa, particularly West Africa, where nearly all human trafficking victims are children. Child trafficking is also very common in Asia's Mekong region, which includes Cambodia, parts of China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

What are the 5 P's of human trafficking? ›

The Online Anti-Human Trafficking Certificate concentrates on the Five P Model: partnership, prevention, protection, prosecution, and policy. The policy component was added to address unique issues in implementation in order to create a human rights focus.

What is the color for human trafficking awareness? ›

Blue is internationally recognized as the universal color for human trafficking prevention.

What are the top 5 child trafficking cities? ›

The 25 Cities with the Most Human Trafficking Cases
RankCityTotal Number of Cases between 12/7/2007 - 12/31/2016
1Houston, TX1,021
2Los Angeles, CA884
3New York, NY759
4Washington, DC596
21 more rows

Is every 2 minutes a child is sold? ›

It is estimated that every two minutes around the world, a life is being bought and sold. Between 60% and 70% of trafficked children in the U.S. come from child social services or the foster care system. Human trafficking is a $200 billion global industry. It is the world's fastest growing criminal enterprise.

What signs to look for in human trafficking? ›

Human Trafficking Indicators
  • Living with employer.
  • Poor living conditions.
  • Multiple people in cramped space.
  • Inability to speak to individual alone.
  • Answers appear to be scripted and rehearsed.
  • Employer is holding identity documents.
  • Signs of physical abuse.
  • Submissive or fearful.

What is the root cause of child trafficking? ›

The Root causes or the reasons why persons end up in a situation of human trafficking are divers. Poverty, conflict, inequality, the absence of viable employment opportunities or social support and discrimination are among the main reasons for people to seek opportunities abroad.

What is the difference between child trafficking and human trafficking? ›

Child trafficking differs from human trafficking in that no force or deception needs to take place in order to prove that a child has been trafficked. This difference is based on the fact that a child is considered incapable of taking an informed decision.

What are the three strategies used by human traffickers? ›

Although tactics vary, traffickers follow a familiar pattern of psychological manipulation and control that includes luring, seducing, grooming and punishing victims.

What is the Netflix show about child trafficking? ›

After falling for an older music producer, a teenage girl finds her life upended when she is manipulated into the dark underworld of sex trafficking. Watch all you want.

What movie is based on a true story about human trafficking? ›

Shot on location in Kathmandu, The Twelve Thousand follows Sona through the sobering real-life stages of her trafficking experience.

Where can I watch the child trafficking movie? ›

'Sound of Freedom,' hit child trafficking thriller endorsed by Trump, will stream on Amazon.

What is the movie about baby trafficking? ›

Inspired by true events, this film follows the operations of a major U.S. adoption agency, exposing the dark crime enterprise of infant trafficking.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Kelle Weber

Last Updated:

Views: 6248

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (53 voted)

Reviews: 84% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Kelle Weber

Birthday: 2000-08-05

Address: 6796 Juan Square, Markfort, MN 58988

Phone: +8215934114615

Job: Hospitality Director

Hobby: tabletop games, Foreign language learning, Leather crafting, Horseback riding, Swimming, Knapping, Handball

Introduction: My name is Kelle Weber, I am a magnificent, enchanting, fair, joyous, light, determined, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.