Youth for Human Rights Volunteers Take Their Message to the Streets at Nashville’s St. Jude Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon

Nashville, TN, 30th April 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — When thousands of runners took to the streets of Nashville this past Saturday for the St. Jude Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon, they were joined by a dozen volunteers with a mission that went beyond the finish line. Youth for Human Rights volunteers turned out in force to spread a message of awareness, education, and action — distributing hundreds of What Are Human Rights? booklets and gathering petition signatures calling for human rights education for all people.

The volunteers were inspired in part by the presence of a very special guest in Nashville: Harold D’Souza, recipient of the United Nations Human Rights Hero Award.

D’Souza, an Indian-American labor trafficking and debt bondage survivor, was honored with the Human Rights Hero Award at the 17th Annual International Human Rights Youth Summit at the United Nations headquarters in New York. In that same year, he was also named a Human Rights Trailblazer, recognizing his exceptional leadership and dedication to survivor advocacy. As co-founder of Eyes Open International, D’Souza spearheads prevention efforts through survivor-informed research and education, and has served on the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2015 and continuing under President Trump through 2020.

D’Souza has long championed one particular cause close to his heart: ensuring that every person on earth knows their rights. Speaking at the United Nations, he declared that every child born on this planet should be taught all 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was that message — amplified by his presence in Nashville — that brought volunteers out to one of the city’s most high-profile public events.

What Are Human Rights? booklets, distributed by the hundreds along the marathon route, is one of the signature educational tools of Youth for Human Rights International. Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, an educator born and raised in apartheid South Africa, where she witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of discrimination and the lack of basic human rights. The purpose of YHRI is to teach youth about human rights, specifically the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and inspire them to become advocates for tolerance and peace.

YHRI has grown into a global movement including hundreds of groups, clubs and chapters around the world, teaching human rights education both in the classroom and in nontraditional educational settings — reaching people from diverse backgrounds through conferences, workshops, music, and more.

The St. Jude Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon, which draws tens of thousands of participants and spectators to the streets of Nashville each year, provided an ideal time to reach many people with the message of human rights for all. Amid the energy of the race, they engaged runners, spectators, and bystanders alike — placing human rights literature in willing hands.

For more information on Youth for Human Rights International, visit www.youthforhumanrights.org.