While at a conference in Waco, Texas, senior Nathaniel Martin discovered an organization called Dressember.

“I looked at my friends and said this is definitely something that we can do,” he said.

The Dressember Foundation is an organization that advocates for the eradication of modern day slavery and sex trafficking. Participants wear a dress or tie every day for the whole month of December. The goal is to raise money and set up a website to support the cause of eradicating slavery.

According to International Justice Mission (IJM), there are over 20 million victims enslaved worldwide, and this issue isn’t just in foreign countries. There have been reports of human trafficking in all 50 states of America.

Following with Martin, seniors Adam Clayton, Hope Marwede, and Kate Stephenson, along with juniors Lexi Conley, Lauren Zoghlin, Jonny Kilmer, Foster Thomas and sophomore Mary Clayton have all taken up this challenge.

Martin enthusiastically said that it would be “neat to try something new” with the added benefit of “bringing awareness to something bigger than [himself]”

At the conference, IJM’s Liberate, viewers were exposed to the horrors of modern day slavery.

“I was really heartbroken,” Conley said.

This heartbrokenness transpired into action. Conley was worried at first about the frigid December temperatures, but “[she] prayed a lot about it” and felt like “ [she] was supposed to be doing whatever [she] can do to raise awareness.”

These students have no off days. Lounging on Sundays in sweatpants or wearing sweatshirts to finals is not an option.

If you would like to contribute to the cause, consider donating to their individual pages to aid in the fight to end sex trafficking and modern day slavery.

Also, if you want to learn more about the organization, check out this Ted Talk highlighting Dressembers history and the founder, Blythe Hill.