When I was young, I used to watch the Halo Awards on Nickelodeon. I watched all of these kids do these amazing things. Kids of all ages doing these huge things like a park cleanup that inspired other kids to do other cleanups, leading to a clean town, kids raising money for animals, hospitals, the homeless. Projects being started and created, leading to money being raised for something big. All from kids that were even younger than me at the time. It empowered me, made me feel like I could do anything. I tried to come up with ideas, but at that time and situation in life, I thought there was nothing I could do. I thought that in order to help others, I needed more resources than I had. In my situation, that was partially true, but there were always little things that I did that could have been making a bigger difference than I knew. I remember being on different websites and spamming them with scripture and getting blocked. I was mad for getting blocked, but proud to be a Christian and to spread that around. Things have changed now. A lot. There is so much we can do to help others, yet no one ever wants to do it. Everyone is always hustling and bustling towards their self drawn goals. Work, go home, eat, sleep, repeat. Over and over again. Socialize on the weekends, connect with your friends. Maybe go to church on Sundays. It's the same thing week after week, month after month, and year after year. But what are you aiming towards? A happy life?
For me personally, I don't feel like I can live a happy life unless I do something meaningful. Do something that makes my being alive worth something. Doing the same thing over and over again, nothing ever changing, living selfishly, I don't feel like my existence would mean anything. Again, that's just me, what I am about to speak about is what I have been called to do. My only hope is that it encourages you in some way.
This month, I have participated in something far bigger than even I imagined. Dressember. An amazing lady by the name of Blythe Hill had wanted to do something about human trafficking, but had never thought she could. She created a style challenge for herself to wear a dress every day for the month of December, hence the name, Dressember. The next year, others wanted to participated, and then it led to something bigger. She realized that maybe, just maybe she could raise money while doing Dressember. Boy was she right. Just in 2013, she thought a goal of $25,000 was huge. They made over $125,000 with over 1,200 people! The next year, 2,600 women participated and over $465,000 was raised! Last year, 4,600 women and $924,000! This is getting bigger and bigger every single year. This year, on the last day of Dressember, right now over $1.3mil has been raised! Human trafficking has become a terrible thing all over the world. Globally, the average cost of a slave is $90. Approximately 80% of trafficking involves sexual exploitation, and only 19% involves labor exploitation. There are approximately 20-30 MILLION slaves in the world today. The average age a teen enters the sex trade in the US is 12-14 years old. It's crazy. Recently, an 18 month old BABY was rescued. The baby was in the hospital for 2 months, being treated from the physical trauma.
You would think there is nothing you could do, but there is. For one thing, donations are key. Thanks to donations, women can be rescued, treated, and given a new life. All of the money being raised goes straight towards that. Not only are they rescued, but they are medically and mentally treated, and given a whole new life. They are not just rescued and then thrown onto the streets.
Another thing is to raise the money. I always thought that I would never get support, but surprisingly, I did. I raised over $200! That's double my goal, but triple my expectations!
Dressember has taught me that anyone can make a difference if they stand up for what they believe. Make yourself uncomfortable for a short while to make a big difference. People see you doing something different, unusual, and they as why, they get interested, and then they support you. Whether that be by donating or through emotional support. All of which is key to helping others.
I wore a dress through December to stand up for what I believed in, and for that, I helped raise money to rescue women from an awful, awful situation. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to do this, the support I have received, and ultimately God for giving me the heart to want this.You can make a difference! Whether it be setting aside a small portion of money to donate, or standing up for what you believe, or even opening the door for someone. There is always a way to do something! Don't think about changing the world, think about helping one person at a time. That is the true way to change the world.
If you are interested in donating on our last day of Dressember, here is the link! https://support.dressemberfoundation.org/fundraiser/857682
