I’m dressing up every day in December to fight human trafficking as a part of Dressember. Please consider making a donation to support my efforts.
It’s dumb that slavery is something we still have to talk about in 2021. But it impacts something like 45 million people worldwide, and disproportionately impacts children, women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and foster kids—basically the vulnerable.
That’s hard to stomach. The whole topic of human trafficking is pretty gruesome. It’s a lot easier to look away and ignore it.
That’s why Dressember uses what seems like a silly style challenge to raise awareness and attention for this difficult issue. So far they’ve raised over $13 million and counting to help trafficking survivors around the world. That’s pretty great.
Why Another Cause Fundraising Deal?
I’ll be honest: I was pretty skeptical about Dressember. I do content writing for a client and they’ve been doing Dressember for several years and asked me to help create some blog and social media posts.
I had certainly heard about human trafficking and was aware of the issue. I’ve been involved in several projects over the years that confronted the issue, but it’s probably been 10 to 15 years. It was a little disheartening to see that not much had changed.
While researching, I kept wrestling with the question of whether or not I should participate. It’s my client’s cause, not mine—so there’s no obligation. But Dressember is pretty compelling. Why not wear a tie for a month and help tackle this enormous global issue? It’s not going to instantly solve everything, but it will make that sliver of a difference. Sometimes that’s all it takes to make a difference in someone’s life, whether it’s the little bit of money we raise giving a victim a path to freedom or the awareness that comes about from this bit of noise that makes people think and maybe some day act.
That’s hope alive and well in the world. So yeah, this stylistically challenged person will try a style challenge.
Work-at-Home Style?
If nothing else, stick around to see how this goes. I mean, I’ve worked at home for 17 years. I don’t have much in the way of dressy clothes. I’m not sure I even own dress pants. Thankfully, Dressember calls “wearing a tie” dressing up, so that’s what I’m going with. We’ll see how it goes.
As tempting as it might be, I don’t plan to buy new dress clothes. Kinda defeats the purpose. (Though picking up a few ties at Goodwill might be in the cards.)
Please Donate
I’ll be sharing more about human trafficking and Dressember throughout the month. I hope you’ll join me in this silly effort, learn a few things, and donate a few dollars. Let’s spread some hope and joy this holiday season.
Donations to Dressember support advocacy, prevention, intervention, and survivor empowerment programs. Read more about the impact your donation will have.
Thanks.