Dressember 2015 Recap: Week 4

Reasons why this was the best week of Dressember:

1. Christmas and Christmas break!

2. My "Dressember Forever" teammate (my sister Aimee) was here!

3. It hasn't even been too terribly cold!

4. The "small things challenge" has turned out to be not so small - this week all of the donations added up to $366!

5. Part of the $366 was from my extended family who all collected spare change between Thanksgiving and Christmas. When we put all of the change together on Christmas Eve we had $146 - a perfect example of how everyone giving a little can turn into something big. Then we voted on where to donate the money and everyone decided to give it to Dressember - hooray!

6. There are 5 days of Dressember left, and I've already reached over 75% of my $1000 goal for helping International Justice Mission and A21 rescue and rehabilitate survivors of human trafficking!

(If you'd like to help with the 25% that's left, here's the link)

Happy Dressember!

Dressember 2015 Recap: Week 3

This week has been full of Christmas, from the beginning of Christmas break to some of my favorite traditions, including going to The Music Box Theatre and watching "It's A Wonderful Life" on the big screen. I love watching the movie every year, and the part that usually gets me is the end, when all of George Bailey's friends chip in and repay the money he has lost so that he doesn't go bankrupt and end up in jail.

But this year, I was struck more by what Clarence tells George while he is trying to convince him that his life is important - "Funny how each man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?" Then he reminded George of all of the good things that happened because of small things that he had done.

I think it's hard to remember, when you're in the middle of real life and doing things you think are so small, that the small things matter.

And that little things, like choosing kindness for those around you or donating a couple of dollars to help rescue women you will probably never meet, those things make a difference and they matter to someone. And that you make a difference and you matter to someone.

So the challenge for this week is to do something small that will matter to someone else. 

If you want to help with my small thing, I'm looking for 10 people to donate just $10 each to raise $100 this week for International Justice Mission and A21. (Here's the link)

If you think of your own small way to matter to someone else this week, I'd love to hear about that, too! 





Happy Dressember!

Dressember 2015 Recap: Week 2

We sang "O Holy Night" at church this week, and I couldn't help but think about Dressember as we sang these lines in particular:

Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.

As we sang, I was glad to be a part of Dressember and supporting International Justice Mission and A21 and the work they are doing to break chains of slavery and relieve people from oppression around the world. (For more information their work, visit the IJM website or the A21 website).

And I am glad that even though my pictures from this week are a little ridiculous, there is some serious money being raised to fight modern day slavery. In fact, over $350,000 has been donated to the dressember campaign so far! And it's not even halfway through the month yet. I'm excited to see what happens as the month continues...



As always, if you want to support Dressember, here's my link to donate and feel free to share with others!

Dressember 2015 Recap: Week 1

I love Dressember for a lot of reasons. I love raising money and awareness for the issue of human trafficking. I love having a project/challenge to work on. I secretly love getting dressed up everyday. But one of the biggest reasons I love Dressember is because it brings together so many different people, all doing something small - like wearing a dress for a month, or donating a small amount of money, or sharing a facebook post - but when all of the small things are combined, it adds up to making a big difference. I'm already 30% of the way to my goal of $1000, and the entire Dressember campaign has raised over $250,000 so far. Amazing, right?!

And especially now, when it feels like the bad in this world is overwhelming the good, I'm grateful to have a small part in something spreading love and dignity instead of hate and fear.

So thanks for being a small part of my small part in Dressember. If you'd like to donate or help spread the word, here's the link to my page!

Happy Dressember! May your legs be warmer than mine!

Twas the Night Before Dressember...

...And I was going to try to be cute and write a little poem about how my dresses are hung in the closet with care and how my legs will be really cold for the next 31 days, but as I'm sitting here thinking about why my legs will be really cold for the next 31 days, I don't feel like being cute about it.

Because the reality is that the reason my legs are going to be cold and the reason the Dressember project exists is to raise awareness and support organizations that work to rescue victims of slavery and human trafficking. And while I am excited to raise awareness and support, I hate that we live in a world where that is even a concern.

So I'll be wearing a dress all month long, and partnering with Dressember to stand up for women who are trapped in slavery and human trafficking by raising money for International Justice Mission and A21.

Last year, my goal was to have each of the 31 days of Dressember sponsored for $10 a day, for a total of $300. I ended up raising over $500, so this year I'm going even bigger! My goal for this year is to have each day sponsored for $30 a day, for a total of about $1000! I'm super excited to see what happens, because I know that no one can do everything, but everyone can do something.

If you'd like to sponsor a day, or part of a day, here's the link to my fundraising page. Every little bit counts, so thanks for joining me on my Dressember journey!

Remember that time...

Remember that time Aimee and I wore only 7 items of clothing for a month? Or that time I read Jen Hatmaker's book, 7, and realized I have way too much stuff (like too many clothes in my closet)? Or even that time I wore only dresses for the month of December? Apparently I like projects that involve clothing.

Well, my current project started way back in January, and I just realized I should have been keeping track of it here since the beginning. It started as a New Year's Resolution idea: to stop buying new clothes for a year.

Why would I want to do that? 

1. I already have so many clothes in my closet, many of which I don't even wear. (See below).

2. A lot of my clothing I buy just because it's cheap, or "a good deal" but then I wear things once or twice and after that they just sit in the closet.

3. I've been reading and thinking and asking questions about how my choices contribute to some of the darker side of the fashion industry...Where is my clothing being made? Are the people who make my clothing paid a fair wage? What are the working and living conditions for the people making my clothing? Can the choices I make about buying (or not buying) clothing make a difference?

4. I'm always up for a project/challenge - I wanted to see if I could really do it!

My rules are pretty simple:

1. No buying new clothes for a year.
2. Buying used clothing (from garage sales, resale stores, etc...) is allowed.
3. Getting clothing as a gift (for birthday, Christmas, etc...) is allowed.
4. Any other questions could be solved by the (unofficial) Clothing Council.

I've been at this for about 6 months now, and you know I've got lots of thoughts and stories to share, so stay tuned...

The End of Dressember

I am writing this while wearing sweatpants...sweatPANTS...because Dressember is officially over! Back to jeans (pajama jeans, maybe?), and hopefully warmer legs! But before I'm officially done, here are just a few last pictures and stats from my Dressember...

Money raised by me (really, all of you): $526 - Amazing!!!!

Money raised by the whole Dressember campaign (so far): $440K - Wow!!!!

Different dresses worn by me: 11(ish...I maybe didn't take a picture every day, so I'm not totally sure on this one)

Most times I wore the same dress: 6 (Hmm...6 times in 31 days, too many times?)

Times I was really jealous of other people who got to wear pants: 4 (mostly on Fridays, when everyone else was wearing jeans! Also, while I was in Spain. And on the plane. Ok, maybe that number is closer to 8.)

I've been seriously overwhelmed by the amount of support from so many different people - you donated, took my pictures of the day, didn't make fun of me because I didn't wear jeans on Fridays, got other people involved, prayed for and thought about the women who are trapped in trafficking and slavery - it's been pretty cool to see how one small thing can bring so many different people together to make a difference!

I know that's one of the things I will take away from this month - that everyone working together can make a huge difference. $526 may not seem like a lot of money, but when combined with everyone doing Dressember...imagine how much of a difference $440K is going to make!

The other thing wearing a dress everyday reminded me to do was to pray for the women trapped in slavery and trafficking, and that's not a small thing, either. So even though I'm not wearing a dress everyday anymore, I'm going to try to remember to pray for these women every time I do put on a dress.

Thanks for participating in Dressember with me...hopefully you've become more aware of and maybe even been inspired to get involved in this issue of human trafficking. Maybe you'll even wear dresses all month with me next year?! Hopefully you haven't gotten too tired of all of my crazy dress pictures, either!

And if you're interested in more information or ways to get involved with this issue, check out what these organizations are doing...

International Justice Mission    The Exodus Road    Kwagala Project 

Here's one last picture for you...check out all of my tights and fleece-lined leggings on laundry day...

Happy Dressember and Happy New Year!