cm-life.com/category/news
Central Michigan Life || Friday, April 8, 2011 || 5A
[News]
Dressing for a Cause Student wears single article of clothing for month, raises sex trafficking awareness By Perry Fish | Staff Photographer
C
asey Foote was one of 110 girls who committed to wear one dress every day in March. The Bay City freshman joined “One Dress. One Month. One Cause,” a movement created to raise awareness of sex trafficking. VirtuousTeen Magazine editor in chief and owner Carli Miller started a Facebook group for the cause, encouraging participants to post pictures of their progress throughout the month. Foote first heard about the Facebook event from girls in her sorority, Alpha Sigma Alpha. “I didn’t even think about people thinking I’m weird,” Foote said. “You’re doing it for a cause, so you shouldn’t care about what people think.” Those who took part in the movement were encouraged to donate the money they saved from not buying new clothes for a month to The Daughter Project. The Ohio-based nonprofit organization is planning a recovery home for girls rescued from trafficking.
snyder | continued from 3A
Oct. 1. The dashboards will show a measure of both local governments’ performance and financial statements. “We have had a long history of collaboration and consolidation for a number of years,” Grinzinger said. Union Township Supervisor John Barker said the township would not likely be eligible for the incentive money because it operates
Perry fish/staff photographer
Bay City freshman Casey Foote looks in a mirror as she fixes her makeup in her room before class the morning of March 24 in Robinson Hall. Foote participated in the movement “One Dress. One Month. One Cause” by wearing one dress the entire month of March to raise awareness of sex trafficking. Foote said she bought her dress from H&M for only $20. “I wore it to my high school graduation,” she said.
Miller said she was inspired to start the event after hearing about Amy Seiffert, who was raising awareness for sex trafficking by wearing one dress for six months. “I loved the idea and the creativeness of it and decided instead of just thinking it was a good idea, why not get girls who I know to do it,” Miller said. Foote said taking part in the “One Dress” movement not only made her more aware of the reality of sex trafficking, but it also made her more creative. “Instead of going out to get an
with constitutional revenue sharing. “The whole program, in my mind, is a farce,” he said. “We’ve got all these great things going on in our community, but we don’t get to take advantage of the incentive money.” Barker said the money will only affect a small number of townships in the state. Local governments must create a plan to consolidate their services or notify the state of service-sharing measures they have taken by Jan. 1, 2012.
outfit so I look cute, I go through my closet,” Foote said. She also said getting ready for class was easier, because she knew what she was going to wear each day. Participants washed their dresses regularly throughout the month, and Foote said she washed her dress at least once a week but she needed to be creative when it came to cleaning it. “I washed it twice in the sink,” she said. Foote said she also tried sneaking the dress into her friends’ and
Grinzinger said Mount Pleasant already teams up with the county, township and other local governments to cut costs and consolidate services. She said the City Commission will have to weigh in on whether there will be more cost-cutting measures taken. “No one knows if you get to count things you’ve already done,” Grinzinger said. “We’re not even sure if we’re competing against each other.” metro@cm-life.com
boyfriend’s laundry. Her friend Stacey Bush, a Grand Blanc senior, was supportive of Foote’s decision to participate in “One Dress.” “She is really taking on a cause,” Bush said. After March came to a close, Foote was reunited with her jeans. She said she was proud that she completed the project, but she wants to continue raising awareness for the cause. Foote said wearing the same dress for a month reminded her to
Budget | continued from 3A
bits and pieces of what they like,” he said. “I don’t think they will adopt everything the governor has proposed.” Iris Salters, Michigan Education Association president, said even a 15-percent cut is extreme for higher education. She said Snyder’s proposal to merge higher education funding from the general fund into the school aid fund,
To Nominate Do you know someone with a compelling story that needs to be told? We want to know. Please contact photo@cm-life.com pray for the victims of sex trafficking and made her less self-conscious about her appearance. “I like it, I think I’ll miss wearing it,” she said. studentlife@cm-life.com
which funds the K-12 education budget, is a “double whammy.” “School aid was set aside for K-12 as it has experienced, in the past couple of years better than before, what people are talking about as an excess in revenue,” Salters said. “The legislature, in their wisdom, decided to remove (higher education) from the general fund.” Cotter said that plan is meeting a lot of resistance from K-12, and from higher education and community colleges, who also will see
their funding moved to the school aid fund. Salter said the fund would be burdened with additional cost and “less ... to spread around” if higher education moves to the school aid fund. “The real people that will suffer is not only K-12, but higher education students, then they will have higher tuition,” Salter said. “Students are going to be paying more and absorbing the cost.” university@cm-life.com