WHAT IS THE ONE GREY DRESS PROJECT...?
WHAT DO I DO?
This answer is a simple one. For one month or thirty days, you wear the same grey dress. WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? First off, we are raising money to donate to three separate organizations. This year, participants have the choice of donating their fundraised money to The Daughter Project, The Circle of Sisterhood, or the Aruna Project. These three organizations have separate pages on the site to learn more, but overall these organizations provide opportunities to women and children who desperately need them. These organizations are raising awareness about human trafficking and educational opportunities for girls. The One Grey Dress Project asks its participants to challenge themselves and their world to look deeper into these issues, and possibly donate in the process. Our month of fundraising and awareness will culminate with BGSU's Aruna 5K on October 24, 2015. To sign up for the run/walk go to the Aruna Project's site under Charities and find the Bowling Green, OH event. WHAT DOES THE CIRCLE OF SISTERHOOD HAVE TO DO WITH THE DAUGHTER PROJECT/THE ARUNA PROJECT? For some, this might be a difficult concept to grasp. Simply put, The Circle of Sisterhood's website states, "For too many girls and women around the world, access to quality education is often limited. Two thirds of all illiterate adults in the world are female, and not even 7% of the world’s population has a college degree. Education is an answer to many of the global issues related to women – poverty, oppression, misogyny, brutality. Ultimately, more and more educated girls will mean stronger and healthier villages, communities, and entire countries." Schooling provides girls and women with the resources to fight injustice, poverty, and ultimately find their way out of the life they were born into. When a girl gets the opportunity to go to school, she can escape violence and oppression, giving her the chance to unlock her world. Our purpose in supporting these organizations simultaneously: 1. Bring awareness about human trafficking and donate towards giving freedom to girls across the globe, while; 2. Fighting to end the problem in the first place by giving girls an opportunity to escape before they are imprisoned. CAN I WEAR MORE THAN ONE THING? CAN I CHANGE? Most people do not wear more than one dress. However, if this poses too much of a challenge, you can alternate between two options. Mostly, it is up to you! The goal is to challenge yourself and walk a month in the shoes of a girl who has no choices. If you need to change for work, exercise, or sleeping... that is completely understandable! We don't expect participants to sleep in their grey dresses or wear them in the shower! You can wash the dress. You can accessorize your dress however you choose. The point is to just feel the uncomfortable quality of not having a choice of what to wear. By wearing the same piece of clothing for thirty days, you can feel a small piece of the isolation, oppression, and enslavement felt by girls and women worldwide in human trafficking and impoverishment. HOW DO I FUNDRAISE? Join one of the teams on our fundraising page on crowdrise.com. The link can be found on our homepage or by clicking the Join Now link. Set up a page on crowdrise and then you can link it to your Facebook, Twitter, etc. This way you can let everyone know you're doing the project and they can go right to your page to donate online. You can even post a picture of you wearing your grey dress every day to raise awareness and really get people's attention! DO I HAVE TO DONATE? As the participants of the project, we should lead by example, whether that's donating $5 or $100, let your heart decide. WHAT IF PEOPLE CAN'T DONATE ONLINE? If they don't have a computer in front of them, and you cannot remember the web link [www.crowdrise.com/OneGreyDress] you can always tell them to give you their info and you can get them the correct links later. Also, some people find it helpful to print off this website's page address and the fundraising page addresses and stick it in their purse. You can even cut out small print-outs to just distribute when need be! If people give you random cash or checks, you can put them into your account and then make a donation based on that amount at the end of the month. If people make out a check to the organization, either give it to one of the sponsoring groups or mail it to the organization directly. Always remember to thank your donors! WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION? Check out the Charities links to find more info on The Circle of Sisterhood, Aruna Project and Daughter Project. Or, contact us with questions. |