For many of you who know me (personally or via social media), you know I just finished my third year of advocating for Dressember. I felt like it was the best year yet because my team raised over $20,000! Also, there seemed to be so much more media and publicity for Dressember which is amazing. Raising awareness is just as important as raising money.
For those of you who may not see all my posts, don’t know what I am talking about or maybe got tired of seeing a bunch of girls in dresses in your feed for a month, this post is for you. I’d like to share more about how I got into Dressember and why I continue to do it.
First of all, you may be asking, what is Dressember? Good question. It’s an international campaign of advocates committing to wearing a dress everyday for the month of December to raise funds and awareness as a way of aiding in the fight against sex trafficking. The money raised by advocates is given to Dressember partners, A21 and IJM. This year they added McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center. These organizations do the work of investigating, rescuing and restoring the lives of those affected by human and sex trafficking.
You may also ask, why a dress? The dress is the uniform and flag of our movement. The dress in this case is used as a symbol of freedom and power. Reclaiming something that may show us as weak individuals into something that shows strength and confidence. I shared this before on social media, but there was a time in my life when I was only allowed to wear a dress or skirt. So for a time I disliked them very much. To me they did not represent being modest or ladylike, they represented someone who wanted to control me and make decisions for me. So to give up a month of jeans and only wear dresses was a big sacrifice. As I continue to do it, it continues to be easier and something I see as a joy to be able to do for others.
When I first heard about Dressember and did more research to find out what it was all about, I quickly said yes! This is something I want to support. The statistics I read, stories that were shared, appalled me. It was especially the scenarios that involved little children that were abhorrent to me and became my main reason for advocating. These babies who had their innocence stolen from them broke my heart. I knew I had to help them. I am a SAHM to two amazing boys that keep me busy. I am not able to find these innocents and wrap them safely in my arms but I can wear a dress everyday. I can spread the word about these crimes and educate others to fight for them as well. Did you know that about 2 million children are currently exploited in the the global commercial sex trade? Some days it’s difficult to want to wear a dress, when it’s cold or when I walk to the park with the boys or sit on the floor to read a book to them. But how much more is their pain? I have nothing to complain about.
Dressember campaigns remain open even after December 31st because January is Human Trafficking Awareness month. The goal is $2 million dollars and as of today, it’s about $12,000 shy of hitting that goal. There are still plenty of days remaining in the month to meet this goal and I’d like to ask you, reading this now to consider donating for the first time or maybe again. $5, $10, $100. January is also my birthday month and I’d love nothing more than knowing we reached our goal. What a gift not only to me but those who this money will help. Asking for money isn’t always the easiest thing but I have no problem doing it for the victims and survivors of human trafficking.
The link to my campaign is here should you like to donate or learn more. Feel free to comment or message me too if you want more information.
Elizabeth Hafner 