When most people think of December, they think of holidays and time with family. However, they are missing the bigger picture that December holds.

For the students of the Spartans Against Human Trafficking club, the big issue in December is not about finding the perfect gift; it is about finding an end to human trafficking. Dressember is an organization that works to accomplish just that.

“Dressember is a way to raise awareness for human trafficking as well as raising money for the victims and survivors of human trafficking. Awareness is raised through the wearing of dresses in the cold weather every day,” said Maya Betts, junior and club leader.

The Dresember organization works hard to not only eradicate human trafficking, but to support victims. The organization donates all of its proceeds to rehabilitating survivors in order to support and care for them.

Human trafficking has become a very prevalent issue in today’s society, which is why Dressember is important to many people for many reasons.

“It is important to me because I am a big part of trying to raise awareness for human trafficking because of my involvement in Just Ask and SAHT. These organization have taught me that human trafficking happens all over the world, even in our community,” said Betts.

Spartans Against Human Trafficking has brought a widespread awareness of the issue to our West Springfield community.

“SAHT is all about raising awareness about the issue in the community in hopes of preventing human trafficking at our school and in the area. If people are educated about the issue and know the warning signs, they are more likely to report cases,” said junior and club leader Elsa Iannotta.

Dressember encourages male and female participants to wear a dress or a tie every day in December to make a change. Participants can set up online pages to collect their donations, all of which go to helping find an end to human trafficking.

Many WS students are participating in Dressember this winter.

“It is important to me because I love seeing people rally together for a cause and it is so cool to see girls embracing their femininity and dignity to support sex trafficking victims and prevent it from happening in the future,” said junior and club leader Shayna Perdue.

Dressember is a unique organization with efforts influencing the future of society. Their slogan, “it’s bigger than a dress” continues to spread.

“The issue is important to me because human trafficking affects so many all over the country, especially in our area,” said Iannotta. The more knowledge people have about the issue and its prevalence, the closer we can come to its eradication.”