Cornerstone University Team Participates in Dressember
Several female staff, faculty and students at Cornerstone University have committed to wearing dresses every day during the month of December, braving the cold to participate in Dressember, a month-long campaign to raise awareness and funds for several anti-human trafficking organizations.
Blythe Hill, the CEO and founder of Dressember, had a vision several years ago that a dress could change the world. She wanted to do something to help fight human trafficking but wasn’t sure how to get started. She knew that she wasn’t a cop, lawyer or social worker. She decided to create a style challenge for herself, wearing a dress every day for one month. Soon, her friends wanted to join in. She was inspired by the Movember campaign which raises money for prostate cancer research, and she decided to use this month of dresses, Dressember, as a campaign that raises money for anti-human trafficking efforts.
Blythe said, “Something that started as a simple idea became a global movement that created a pathway for not just me, but thousands of women to put a stop to one of the greatest injustices of our time.”
This year, the Dressember campaign has raised over $1,000,000 for their partner organizations International Justice Mission, A21 and McMahon Ryan.
The team of women from Cornerstone includes various members of our staff, faculty and student body. The team has raised nearly $1,500 thus far.
Valerie Probst, director of events and hospitality, is participating in Dressember for the first time this year.
“Every day when I put my dress on, I think about individuals all over the world that are enslaved, and it’s been such a joy to be able to do something to help them out,” Probst said. “It’s been such a pleasure to be a part of Dressember. It has been eye-opening for me as I didn’t know how prevalent human trafficking was all over the world. Being a part of Dressember has made me more aware of the issues and the wonderful organizations like IJM, A21 and McMahon Ryan.”
