Dressember 2023:

Dressember is coming up once again, and I am very excited for this fundraiser this year.  2023 certainly was a huge year for me personally, and while I am very blessed to reflect on this year in its entirety, it is not quite over yet.  I have a very big thing left and that is, of course, my yearly Dressember fundraiser.  

What is Dressember? Dressember is a fundraiser where the participant wears either a dress or a tie for the whole duration of the month of December.  This is supposed to be fun and creative.  The founder of Dressember, Blythe Hill, did this originally as a style challenge.  She wanted to challenge herself to be more creative in her clothing choices in a time of year when it can be very easy to wear super comfortable clothes.  Dressember is way more than a style challenge, though.  It is also a chance to raise awareness and funds against modern day slavery.  All of the funds go towards funding rescue missions, therapy for victims of human trafficking, or other items that those particular individuals will need.  Dressember is also a great organization to raise awareness about clothing companies that use fair labor to make their fashion lines.  

One reflection that Dressember gives us is the lack of choice those who are stuck in human trafficking suffer.  We have a lot of freedom in what we get to wear, where we go, and even where we get to work for many of us.  This year, I felt a great amount of freedom of choice.  I chose to take a new job, and I chose to move to a new community, and that came with more choices like choosing to join a choir, choosing which gym and workout classes to go to, and a choice of which church to start attending.  I have been so blessed with this opportunity to choose.  I can not imagine the choices I get to make being stripped away from me.  I want to make this a year where I really fight for others’ choices.

I joined Dressember originally because I love the opportunity to fight against human trafficking, and I love dresses.  It seemed like a win-win.  I get to wear some of my favorite clothes, and I get to make a difference in the world through my own personal fundraiser.  It isn’t necessarily world changing.  I am not changing a law in the world, and I am not reaching millions of people, but I believe it is important to remember that we as people can make differences in our world, even through raising awareness in our general sphere of influence and using our resources to advocate for others.  

My personal goal for this year’s campaign is $2000.  This will be my highest goal I have ever made, but I am hopeful with the added friends and community members I have developed, I will get to share my passion with them to fight against human trafficking and my love for the Dressember fundraiser.  Every year I have done this fundraiser, I have had the opportunity to reach out to others about what this organization and the fighting against human trafficking means to me and how this will better our world.  

This blog post is not just about seeking financial support.  Yes, I always appreciate that particular support and donations to this Dressember fundraiser.  I love feeling supported, but I also know that this is a fundraiser where the money is not going towards me and my personal goals.  I also should mention that I feel great support from my friends and family members who share my post on their social media, and I appreciate when a few individuals will wear a dress with me during the time of Dressember.  

In conclusion, I would love for anyone reading to prayerfully consider donations to my fundraising Dressember page and to Dressember as an organization in general. I have done this organization for so many years because I really do believe in its overall goal and mission, which is to raise awareness and funds for so many all over the world who are trapped in human trafficking.  

Dressember 2023 (funraise.org)