|

Dressember fundraises every December, supporting human trafficking victims | News

December has begun, but it is not too late for those who wish to join the Dressember Foundation

Dressember is an organization founded in 2013 by Blythe Hill that aims to end human trafficking and support victims and survivors. Anyone can participate – here's how: each advocate sets up a campaign page on the Dressember website and wears a dress or a tie every day in December to raise for their cause. 

“It's less about what we're wearing and more about why we're uniting behind two items of clothing – to start a conversation about human trafficking and ultimately raise life-changing funding for the work being done to prevent it and support victims and survivors,” Dressember Senior Director of Partnerships and Programs Marissa Marx said. “It's a choose-your-own-adventure style challenge and we see people show up with creativity and boldness in dresses and ties.”

Since 2013, Dressember has raised $16 million that goes toward various to help victims of human trafficking. Anyone can choose their desired amount to donate, but the Dressember site has amounts that let donors know what their contribution can cover. 

“Giving to Dressember is a really strategic way to fight human trafficking,” said Marx.

According to the Dressember website, $30 can provide a session of trauma therapy for a survivor, $80 can buy a year's worth of school supplies for a child survivor, $125 can cover trial fees for a case and $200 can cover medical expenses for a youth abuse victim.

Larger donations can provide more extensive resources to survivors. An amount of $650 can offer refugee support to trafficking survivors in Eastern Europe by covering their airfare, a care package, and counseling, while $2,400 can cover a survivor's community college tuition for a semester through Dressember's Survivor Scholarship Program, and a donation of $8,800 can fund a human trafficking intervention. 

“My favorite program is Dressember's Survivor Scholarship Program, built in response to survivors expressing lack of resources for education,” Marx said. “Unfortunately, a lot of trafficking happens in adolescent years. Once survivors have gotten out of trafficking, they've often missed out on education. This provides them with opportunities they want to pursue, and reduces opportunity for recidivism.”

Though wearing a dress every day for an entire month can sound daunting, Dressember encourages participants not to buy an entire new wardrobe for this event. Dressember's website has an Ethical Fashion section in their blog, which gives pointers to those participating in the fundraiser to be more sustainable. 

Wearing accessories, alternating between dresses and ties, and utilizing layers can help participants maintain a different appearance while wearing the same dress. This helps prevent overconsumption of new clothes, according to a post in the Ethical Fashion section.

In order to encourage others to donate, Marx recommends participants to find a niche category to focus on fundraising for, and speak out about that topic.

“Make it personal, maybe one thing or a certain group of things like providing survivors with education or a job, and sharing that throughout the month is really special,” Marx said.

 

This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original location.

ABOUT

PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.

More stories like this can be found in your PBJ Learning Knowledge Vault.

 

EYES ON TRAFFICKING

This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original online location.

ABOUT PBJ LEARNING

PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials online course is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.

More stories like this can be found in your PBJ Learning Knowledge Vault.