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!