Did you know that by wearing a dress or a tie, you can bring awareness and advocate for victims of sex trafficking? Heard of Dressember? Let us tell you more.
"Every year, thousands of advocates around the world take on the creative challenge of wearing a dress or tie during the 31 days of December. And trust us, it makes a statement. The dress or tie serves as the conversation starter to educate your community about modern slavery. Through your personalized campaign page, you'll be able to share your journey with your community and make a tangible impact for our grant partners around the globe. Not only will you expand in your knowledge about human trafficking, but you'll be equipped with the tools to become an every day advocate.
We believe #YouCanDoAnythingInADress, including raise millions of dollars to support the fight to end slavery. Join us this upcoming Dressember.
In 2005, our founder Blythe Hill began hearing about the issue of sex trafficking. Despite her deep sense of urgency to help, she felt helpless. She wasn't a lawyer or a doctor or a social worker; her interests and talents were in fashion, trend analysis, and blogging. She didn't think she had much to offer to the fight, until four years later.
In 2009, Blythe 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. By 2013, the movement blossomed into something completely unexpected - an international campaign to aid the fight against sex trafficking." -Dressember
Dress for Foster Care
Lauren: Adoptive Mom of Foster Care Teen, Full-time Caregiver to hubby, and the JPF Market Owner- so I work from home.
Y'all this is me. In everyday life. Pjs, mom bun, sweats, stinky, and no make up. Every. Single. Day. And the truth is, I've been so busy with our little market that I haven't showered in 2 days. YUCK. But this changes TODAY. Why?
Let me tell you... Well you know we all love advocating for foster care and adoption... but did you know that 1 in 3 runaway girls that comes into foster care is taken into sex trafficking in the first 48 hours? Y'all my heart breaks for this. Like BREAKS.
My Why: Because the thought that kids are forced into modern day slavery just kills me. The thought that kids who are my son's age and who have been in his shoes are trafficked into "survival mode" messes me up.
As a mom of a teen who has lived in the foster care system, I know what it looks like for a kid stuck in survival mode.
"The largest group of at-risk children are runaway, thrown away, or homeless American children who use survival sex to acquire food, shelter, clothing, and other things needed to survive on America's streets. According to the National Runaway Switchboard 1.3 million runaway and homeless youth live on America's streets every day. [5,000 die each year] It would not be surprising to learn that the number of children trafficked in the United States is actually much higher than 300,000." -Ark of Hope for Children
Mackenzie: I am a mom to a 7 month old, Navy wife, and I work from home,
Wearing a dress for 31 days, whew! For this mama that sounds like a TASK. I am in and out of the floor 100 times a day and I'm used to living life in scrubs or yoga pants. BUT, I believe in the power of conversation. I believe that wearing a dress everyday, will spark that conversation and in turn into a movement. So, I have committed to this thing. When I leave the house and CHOOSE what I put on my body, I will consciously choose to put on a dress. I am blessed to live life FREELY and I want to use my freedom to advocate for those who aren't as fortunate.
My Why: My husband serves our country, he gives his life for Human Freedom. How can I sit by and ignore the fact that there are people in America, in my city, that aren't free? More that 2 million CHILDREN are exploited in the commercial sex trafficking trade.
According to the UN, “This modern slave trade is a threat to all nations. A grave human rights abuse, it promotes breakdown of families and communities, fuels organized crime, deprives countries of human capital, undermines public health, creates opportunities for extortion and subversion among government officials, and imposes large economic costs.” Lack of freedom in a FREE country, that's my why.
Savanah: Foster Care Advocate and Professional, new mama and wife.
Wearing a dress everyday in December is a simple act for anyone, but some never get to choose what they wear. For me, wearing dresses isn't something I do regularly or even enjoy. But, it's not just something small when you do it as a team. You are making statement, support those who face injustice everyday of their lives.
My Why: 60% of all trafficking victims are children that have been in the child welfare system. This is why we are passionate about getting the word out to foster parents, but it’s not just children that have been abused and neglected.
Sex traffickers are smart. They’re thorough. They’re intentional. They find out what these kids are missing and give them everything they know they need, only long enough to rob them of everything they thought was real. They build them up to tear them down. They give them the world to take it all away.
Why Foster Care?
by Savanah Nabors
So Dressember actually covers all sorts of victims, but our why and mission is to bring awareness specifically for foster care because that's our heart.
What does a teen in foster care want? Scratch that: What does ANY teen want? They want to feel loved, adored, accepted; anything but lonely. They want to feel like the matter, mean something to someone, and are a part of something bigger than what has happened to them; anything, but abandoned.
Guess who can offer them all of these things quicker than anyone else in the world? Sex Traffickers. The average age of a sex trafficked child is 12. TWELVE!
What do you think of when you hear sex trafficking...handcuffs, prisoners, big trucks, hotels and foreign countries?
Do you ever think of malls, coffee shops, diners, everyday restaurants, and kids with good grades that come from good homes?
Nope, most of us don’t. But that's the reality.
I took a sex trafficking class that described real stories that would blow your mind:
...a story of a “regular” getting to know his waitress at a small town diner, using every small talk conversation they had to lure her in and make her feel like he could be trusted
... a story of a “college boy” preying on a straight “A” student that worked part time at a Christian fast-food restaurant
... a story of a foster child that was in search for more to life and thought she found her "true love"
... a story of a mother that was trafficking her own biological daughter because “she was having sex anyway, so why not use it to help pay the rent?.”
The heartbreaking stories go on and on and usually start with “I would have never imagined” or “I had no idea.” So that just gets me thinking, could YOU imagine? Do YOU have any idea?
Do you know that sex trafficking is taking place at high school parties? It's stemming from videos that could be used as blackmail?
Yep! The teenager that was just trying to fit in and did something that would humiliate him/her if their parents found out gets taken advantage of by a trafficker that says they will destroy the video for $5,000. When the teenager has no idea how to make $5,000, this trafficker gives them the perfect way to make some quick cash!
Do you know that “modeling agencies” are being freely let into our schools to recruit young girls who really turn into trafficking victims? Did you know that these sex traffickers intentionally try and get their victims pregnant as quickly as possible because guys would pay more money to have sex with someone they knew they couldn’t get pregnant?
Until All are Free
by Mackenzie Byrd
Please, hear these statistics, not as numbers but as names. These are women, girls, boys, teens, children... these are children of the King and this is how the World treats them. This person is more than a number, but a beating heart with significant purpose.
More than 30 MILLION people are currently enslaved worldwide.
Human trafficking generates more than $150 billion per year.
About 2 million CHILDREN are currently exploited in the global sex trade.
1 in 3 girls in Foster Care has been involved in sex slavery in some way.
"The average age of entry into street prostitution is between 12 and 14 years old, though there have been cases of girls as young as 9 years old." -ECPAT USA (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes)’, an Anti-Trafficking agency
"A pimp who had three young women and girls in his 'stable' were each were bringing back $500 every day. Do the math — the pimp was making about $24,000 a month or $642,000 a year tax free by selling sex with girls and young women he controlled and then keeping all the money. " - exert from Women's Funding Network, Polaris Project, a non-profit anti-trafficking organization in Washington, DC
"After drug dealing, trafficking of humans is tied with arms dealing as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and is the fastest growing. Raising public awareness is an important element in the fight against human trafficking.”" -Former Assistant District Attorney of New York Co Barry Koch
I don't want to overwhelm you with numbers or statistics, but believe me, I have tons. I want you to see the big picture without taking away from the small one. The local picture, the people close to home. Don't miss the kids close to home, don't turn a blind eye. I BEG of you.
Too Close to Home
where we mama's are raising our kids
Did you know?
"In 2017, 49 percent of human trafficking cases opened in state courts were in Greenville County (South Carolina), with Charleston, Horry, Richland and Beaufort counties rounding out the top five." - The Greenville News
"Duval County is ranked fifth for the number of positively identified cases involving commercially sexually exploited children, according to a state organization aimed at conquering the sex trade."- First Coast News
That's a wrap!
So help us bring awareness to human trafficking, not only happening all over the world, but happening in your town, in your community, and even in your neighborhood. Wear a dress or tie everyday in December to help start up a conversation about these issues, to help fund education for parents, to help build technology that will put this to an end, to help the children that have been through our worst nightmares, and to help our justice system provide the proper consequences for these heinous crimes!
4 Ways to Get Involved
there are no small parts
2. Contribute to our Team Goal: We are wanting to raise $10,000 as a team.
3. Shop the JPF Market during December: 10% off ALL profit from our JPF Market and Etsy shop will go to this cause.
4. Buy a Dress for Foster Care and Freedom and wear it! We have taken our very popular Esther shirt verse and put it on a dress for you! Long or short. 5 different colors with our gold limited edition font. Need I say more?
"Perhaps YOU were created for such a time as this" -Esther 4:14
Fight for Freedom {in a dress},
Lauren, Kenzie, and Savanah
Photo credits: Dressember.org
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