Sparking Awareness with “Ask Me About My Dress

Sparking Awareness: “Ask Me About My Dress”

By KELLY SAYLOR

In 2014 the Little Black Dress Initiative (LBDI) was founded by the Junior League of London to raise awareness about how those with financial struggles have limited choices and resources. For five consecutive days, advocates wear one black dress or outfit to initiate conversations and awareness about poverty and the issues faced. This year’s New Member class held the LBDI from February 24th through the 28th. The LBDI included multiple events, such as a fundraiser held at the LOCOBA by Platform Brewery, at which one dollar for every pint sold that evening was donated by the venue. The New Members also hosted a wine tasting fundraiser at LouVino and held a donation drive for hygiene products and dry food goods for St. Vincent de Paul. Additionally, the New Members spent the week raising awareness about poverty in the Greater Cincinnati area by posting on social media, wearing pins that said “Ask Me About My Dress.” New Members prompted their network to donate for the benefit of JLC and St. Vincent de Paul, and wore the same outfit for all five days that week to educate their family, friends, colleagues, and beyond about LBDI. The LBDI campaign raised funds and collected donations. Beyond raising community awareness and donations, New Members were able to see first-hand the struggles of poverty in our community by participating in a poverty simulation at St. Vincent de Paul, which gave them a better handle on local resources available to combat poverty and the complexity of the issue itself. In this simulation, the New Members partner with St. Vincent de Paul, who assigns each New Member an identity of a person experiencing poverty that has come to SVDP for assistance. During this, the New Members get a brief look into some everyday challenges such as: being elderly and without a network of resources or loved one, difficulties with child care while also pursuing advancement within education or a job, those that are returning citizens that have a felony conviction, and more. . Design Impact partnered with the JLC in years past to create a curriculum unique to the JLC experience, one that continues in the League today. The Design Impact materials are a resource for volunteer training and how to use our emotional intelligence to connect with fellow JLC members and the community. The materials also help facilitate brainstorming broad issues and identify short and long term solutions. The intention is that these trainings prepare New Members to effectively partner with the community and tackle issues through dialogue and action. On the whole, the 2020 LBDI program once again culminated in a successful effort to raise awareness of the impact of generational poverty on women and children.