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To wear or NOT wear a dress.
It’s a choice I have every day of my life. That’s just one of a million choices I get to make each day, and probably one of your millions of choices, too. But have you ever thought about that? The choice thing, I mean, and what would it be like if we were stripped of our ability to make choices.
I don’t get heavy here on the FitRV often, but today there’ll be no jokes and no quips. I want to tell you about a very special campaign I’m choosing to participate in. It is called:
Dressember.
I’ll be wearing a dress every day of December to spread awareness in the fight to end human trafficking. Okay so if you’re just hearing of Dressember you’re probably like me and wondering… what does wearing a dress have to do with human trafficking? Well, nothing, actually. We’re just USING the dress to start a dialogue about an absolutely horrific issue. The dress represents a stance and a commitment I’m taking to do my part spreading awareness.
Now before you stop reading because you THINK human trafficking is something that happens “elsewhere,” nothing could be further from the truth. It is happening all around us. You’ve likely brushed against it and didn’t even know… perhaps the last gas station you filled at, or the last rest stop you had lunch at on your road trip… or maybe even right in your own neighborhood or RV park.
Currently 40 million people are trafficked worldwide through both sexual and labor trafficking.
- 81% of them are trapped in forced labor.
- 25% of them are children.
- 75% are women and girls.
But even more disturbing, at least for me, are the statistics involving children.
- In 2017, an estimated 1 out of 7 endangered runaways reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children fell victim to sex trafficking.
- Every state in the US has reports of child trafficking, with an average age of 15 but it goes much younger than that.
- The U.S. Department of Labor has identified 148 goods from 75 countries made by forced child labor.
These victims don’t have the choices we have to speak out, get out, or even to wear a damn dress. THAT’S what Dressember is about. Lifting our voices and joining the fight to end it.
I’ll be collecting donations all month which will get shared through Dressember’s partners such as International Justice Missions and A21 to go directly to field rescue operations. I’m on a fundraising team organized by Aventura Clothing; we’re brand ambassadors of theirs and have always been so proud of their charitable focus, this just another example. My own personal goal is to raise $1500 for my team. Please help me in supporting this cause!
TO DONATE, PLEASE GO TO MY DRESSEMBER PAGE HERE!
Also! Come like our FitRV Instagram and Facebook. I’ll be putting up my dress pictures each day there. Honestly I’m a little nervous how this will go. We have a bunch of events, and dresses every day are going to be a challenge, especially when I usually dress for multiple bouts of exercise throughout the day. Still, it’s a choice I’ve made and I’m sticking to it.
Here’s an extra incentive: YOUR DONATION GETS YOU ENTERED IN A DRAWING FOR FREE DRESSES FROM AVENTURA!!! 3 Aventura dresses will be given to 3 different donors who will be randomly drawn at the end of our December campaign. In the picture above I’m wearing their “Lia” dress in “eclipse”. I love it and highly recommend for you sporty types. It feels like a super soft sweatshirt; you can bet you’ll be seeing it lots in my December photos.
To donate or NOT to donate. Another of your choices. Whatever you decide, cherish that freedom. It is yours, and only yours, to make.
xoxo, Stef
Stefany,
Great to see you guys out and at it with the new loaner RV. I thought you may be interested in an update on my wife’s efforts. She is back from C.A.R. and has started a three pronged approach to stop illicit trafficking. She is working with the Association of Zoos & Aquariums along with the St. Louis Zoo to align and acquire conservation data to ingest into her geospatial analysis database which currently has field and open source (non-classified) data plotting incidents. This geo-analysis will be used to predict possible routes and targets for interdiction. She has stood up an academic consortium currently of St. Louis area universities along with Kansas University to provide a think tank environment of cooperation for ideas and research of programs and data collection on illicit trafficking. Third she as started a Geo-Analytic Hub in a local innovation center which is the first of its kind that is dedicated to combatting wildlife trafficking and disrupting of the convergence of all types of illicit trade. The innovation center is hosting a 2 day Earth Day event next Monday and Tuesday which will include the viewing of a film, The Last Animals, directed by war photographer Kate Brooks. Kate plans to be on hand Tuesday for a viewing of her film. A trailer of the film can be viewed on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VToxlkKH1A. Strong women are making a difference. Good luck on this year’s ventures and thanks again for your efforts to help stop human trafficking.
Through Unity Stop Killing (TUSK)
Don
Thank you so much for bringing attention to such a horrible injustice!
Thanks for the support Maggie! I saw your donation come in; really appreciate you joining with me in supporting Dressember!
I am happy to help you raise money for your Dressmembers’ cause and am familiar with the sex trafficking problems, especially here in Florida.
I’ll pass on the daily dress idea since I only have a few dresses left in my wardrobe, you know, the wedding and funeral stuff. Even then, I have some pretty fancy pant suits.
Hugs, Celeste Paquette3
You know, some women who participate in Dressember wear the SAME dress all month, and they try to get creative how they style it! Me, I think I’d go nuts wearing the same thing for 30 days so I’m passing on that idea myself, lol. Anyways Celeste, I really do appreciate your help raising money! 🙂 xoxo
Stefany,
Thank you for choosing to help stop human trafficking. People like you who get involved on the front lines so to speak inspire others to help through donations. My wife and I are retired from a Department of Defense and Intelligence Community federal agency that contributed to fighting this type of activity. My wife is currently in the Central African Republic working with a 501.3.c non-governmental organization that trains rangers in wildlife anti-poaching interdiction operations in the field. Her philosophy is T.U.S.K., Through Unity Stop Killing. This model can be applied to all types of illicit trafficking. The nexus between what both of you are doing is that whenever there is illicit trafficking of any kind, there is ALWAYS other illicit trafficking happening in concert. Instances of illicit human, wildlife, drug, or weapon trafficking are really multilateral events. Bad actors do not just stick to one type or another. When choices are made to help stop one kind of illicit trafficking it actually works to help stop all. I hope people choose to help through your effort and by understanding the wide range effect it can have on all types of illicit trafficking I hope they are as generous as possible. Good luck with Dressember, Happy Birthday, and thank you for your choice.
Don
Thank you so much for your perspective, Donald; I hadn’t thought of it that way, though the interconnectedness of illicit activity certainly makes sense. I like the idea we stamp out one part, a domino effect occurs. Wow, your wife’s work… INCREDIBLE! I am humbled by her efforts and love hearing of strong women on the front lines of amazing causes. I am inspired by her. Wishing you both well! And I saw your donation, thank you both!