Oswego Churchgoer Raises Nearly $3,000 By Wearing Dresses Daily

OSWEGO, IL — Every day in December, Elaine Green wore a dress. A member at Church of the Good Shepherd, she wanted to do her part fighting human trafficking.

"What may seem like a silly style challenge has made a tremendous global impact and [I'm] honored to be a small part of that," she's quoted saying in the church's monthly newsletter.

Her intention? To raise money alongside others as part of a social media campaign called Dressember. An international movement, the challenge was started in 2009 by Blythe Hill, the eponymous foundation's founder. That year, the woman with a love for fashion challenged herself to wear a dress every day. The effort blossomed into a nonprofit aimed at supporting anti-trafficking efforts, according to the foundation.

To start, people around the world — including Green — commit to wearing a dress or tie every day of December and subsequently create a fundraising page to share and start discussions on social media. This year, Green alone raised nearly $3,000, surpassing her goal of $2,500.

"I choose to advocate with Dressember because I believe in the inherent dignity of all people," she said. "Human trafficking is a $150 billion dollar industry and I want to do my part to end it. Join me this year as I continue to educate myself and others about this injustice and who it impacts most."

Since 2013, Dressember has raised more than $13 million, with more than 32,000 people participating. In 2020, amid stay-at-home orders and an ongoing pandemic, the organization saw unprecedented progress, raising about $3 million — a 14 percent increase from the previous year, according to its website.

"Despite COVID-19, each of the Dressember Network partners pivoted and innovated to meet the needs of victims and survivors of trafficking during this worldwide crisis," reads the organization's 2021 impact report.

"The pandemic created a surge of online exploitation and allowed traffickers to further exploit vulnerable individuals," the report continues. "From the early onset of COVID-19, we heard from Dressember Network partners around the world about the immediate ways victims and survivors were and continue to be disproportionately impacted by the crisis."

So far, Dressember has impacted 10 countries, including Uganda, Bulgaria and Guatemala.

Although the Dressember challenge generally takes place during the last month of the year, people are able to donate year-round.