Happy almost December friends!
November was a whirl. Again. To everyone who participated in my #30daysoflittlethings challenge- THANK YOU! I was amazed by everyone's consistency in posting and loved connecting with you all. I'm sorry there wasn't a link up this week- with Thanksgiving and E's birthday, it's been busy! But know that I've read and been encouraged by every single one of you who joined me. Let's make it a yearly thing, yeah? (The challenge- not the gratitude part. Make that a daily thing.)
Instead of a monthly recap like I've been posting at the end of each month, I'm sharing about something I'm very passionate about and am so excited to participate in this month that takes precedence over a recap.
Dressember is, in their own words, a "collaborative movement leveraging fashion and creativity to restore dignity to all women". They have partnered with the International Justice Mission and other anti-trafficking organizations to aid those in the sex trade. Last year alone they raised almost $500,000 just through the "dressember" movement. This year, they're partnering with even more organizations and even more people and I can't WAIT to see what happens.
Before I explain more-
Here are a few stats so you know what we're up against:
- According to End Slavery Now, the average "woman" entering prostitution and trafficking is 12-14 years old.
- Almost 21 MILLION people are bought and sold in the sex trade globally each year. TWO MILLION of these are children.
- And it's not just women, it's estimated that around 400,000 boys and men are sexually exploited globally as well.
- Most of these victims fear for their lives and are forced to perform sexual acts as many as 50 times a day to "meet quotas".
- Furthermore, the growing pornography industry fuels this trafficking- both in the States and globally. Many of the women (and girls...) in porn are there against their wills as victims of abuse and trafficking. (I'll list some powerful resources at the end of this post so you can learn more.)
How Dressember works:
As a mom, these statistics break my heart into even more pieces. Human trafficking steals basic human rights away from these girls/women/boys/men and it's happening right under our noses. I can't just sit by and do nothing- even if it seems a distant issue. I have a voice, as small as it may be, and maybe speaking up and participating will make a difference.
Dressember is shockingly simple- you wear a dress everyday of the month. It doesn't have to be the same dress (though some people take that route) and it can be any kind of dress you want. But with this simple choice, you're partnering with thousands of people working to restore dignity to women around the world.
The dress acts as a sort of "flag" to raise awareness, raise funds and link arms with the women around the world who are joining in.
How you can help:
- Join the movement! You can join our team (called #yourvoicematters) by going here.
- Donate! Even a dollar can go a long ways. Our team's goal is $3000 at the moment, which seems HUGE, but crazier things have happened, right?
- Buy my coffee sleeves! I've decided to sell my hand crocheted coffee sleeves and use the profits to support the fundraiser. Go to my Etsy shop and check them out! They make perfect stocking stuffers ;)
I'll be posting updates on my facebook, instagram and twitter and using the tag #yourvoicematters and #dressember- so be sure to get connected that way.
Sources:
Dressember: http://www.dressember.org/
International Justice Mission: https://www.ijm.org/
Equality Now: http://www.equalitynow.org/node/1010
End Slavery Now: http://endslaverynow.org/
Fight the New Drug (Anti-Porn organization): http://www.fightthenewdrug.org