Dressember

Dressember day one for me

Many of you received an e-mail from me about Dressember so you already know all about it but for those of you who didn't.  Here is the scoop.  And for those of you who did, enjoy the photos.  :)  More to come as well in the days ahead.  

Today is snowy!  Dress and dressy coat in the snow.

Via instagram I recently discovered a group of people using the month of December to raise awareness and funds to support a cause I have become passionate about over the past few years.  

We think of slavery as being a thing of the past but in many ways and in countries all over the world INCLUDING the U.S.A. slavery is active today!  Many, many of the goods we purchase and the foods we eat are produced by people who are:

-  not paid a fair wage for their work, 

-  kidnapped from their families in order to perform the work 

-  often treated extremely poorly while doing the work such as coercion, threats, physical, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse, dangerous working conditions, being denied education, healthcare, etc. 

Then there are the young girls and women in our country and other countries around the world who are seduced into thinking they will be given a secure job such as nannying or being a housekeeper and instead are sold into prostitution. 

The problem is huge and complex but that doesn't mean that nothing can be done.  

This group of people that I discovered via a college friend on instagram is calling this month DRESSember :)  Each participant is wearing a dress every day in December, in all kinds of weather and doing all kinds of activities to raise awareness and also to raise money that will go to the International Justice Mission.  https://www.ijm.org/

International Justice Mission has already relieved more than 18,000 people from oppression.  

I have decided to join them.  In this small way, I am a freedom fighter!  

I would be honored if you would consider joining me in fighting for freedom for those who have no voice and have no hope.  

Since I did not find out about Dressember until December/Dressember was already underway, I began daily wearing dresses on Friday, December 12th.  That means that I will be wearing dresses daily for 20 days this December 2014.  I will be posting photos here on the blog.  

I know we are all bombarded with requests for donations at this time of year as well as spending money on gifts, holiday celebrations, etc. so I would like to ask you to consider a very small amount that as a team we can make very large!

Would you consider donating 

10 cents per day that I am wearing a dress 

this December (20 days)?

that would =  $2 

Working together friends, family and myself have already raised over $200 towards the work International Justice Mission is doing! 

In just over 24 hours!!

As a team of people uniting together we can do some amazing things!  My goal is to raise $900 for the work of IJM by the end of December/Dressember.  

If you would consider donating $2 this Dressember to support me in my fundraising and more importantly to DRASTICALLY change someone's world in freeing them from daily atrocities please leave a comment and I will get the donation information to you.  

Thank you so very much for taking the time to read this and for being the wonderful people that you are!  I am blessed to call you friends and family!  

Kelly

P.S.  One final request, if you are local and would be interested in letting me borrow a dress (or leggings or tights) to wear this month as part of this fun challenge, I will definitely highlight you one day when I wear your dress on loan to me!  Thanks!!  :)  

Cooking in a dress

hiking Garden of the Gods in a dress

and this little cutie pie hiking in her dress!