A Journey Bigger Than A Dress

What's Dressember and why am I involved?

In 2005, the founder Blythe Hill began hearing about the issue of sex trafficking. Despite her deep sense of urgency to help, she felt helpless. She didn't think she had much to offer to the fight. In 2009, she challenged herself to wear a dress every day of December (hence: Dressember). The next year, a few friends joined in. By the third year, her friends' friends began to participate, and it occurred to Blythe that there was more to this challenge than she originally thought. This movement has blossomed into something completely unexpected - an international campaign to aid the fight against sex trafficking.

December is a special month for me, one that celebrates my own survival - a different kind (I had a stroke 12 years ago this month, on my birthday, in 2005). My healing journey has been inspired this year by new friends - women rescued from sex trafficking. I have known this issue is real in other parts of our world, I now understand it's real everywhere. For me, Dressember is an opportunity to raise awareness that slavery is a real and much larger problem than many people realize - around the world AND in our own communities.

This December, I turn 43. My goal is to bring greater awareness to modern day slavery and celebrate survivors, reclaiming the dress as a symbol of FREEDOM & POWER.

Will you help me celebrate my birthday this December?
1. Give to a cause close to your heart that impacts or educates those affected by slavery/trafficking - locally or globally. 2. Make a donation toward my $100 goal for the Dressember fundraising campaign
3. Make an effort to purchase gifts this month that are ethically made (more suggestions to come on this topic).
4. Wear a dress this month - educating others in your community and reclaiming the dress as a symbol of FREEDOM & POWER.
5. Let me borrow a dress (this yogini currently owns about three dresses).
6. Donate a gift card as a stocking stuffer for local women who have been rescued from trafficking (I will be delivering these to Rest Stop Ministry this month, click here to find out more about this organization).

This challenge is way out of my comfort zone. And, I'm honored to participate. I'll be writing about my journey here at my blog, so stay tuned... 

How will you join me this Dressember (1, 2 ,3 ,4 , 5, or 6)?

Edited to add:
THANK YOU! My financial goal was met and I delivered a bagful of gift cards to my friends at Rest Stop Ministries. This month truly shaped my journey. I learned that I could not have survived this challenge without leggings, that you really can do anything in a dress, that we have much work to do in regards to advocacy and equality both locally and globally, and that you and I TRULY have a voice!

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