The Dress Shop Recognizeds as top Donor!

Wednesday, September 24, 2025
For Immediate Release
The Dress Shop, a local bridal salon in Howell, was recognized this week by Operation Underground Railroad as being one of the top financial donors to the organization.  Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) has a mission to end sex trafficking and child exploitation while empowering survivors to reclaim their lives and thrive on their healing journey. 
The Dress Shop has been donating to OUR since late 2023, when owner Jessica Brooks attended a conference benefiting them.  “I knew immediately this was a cause we had to get behind,” Brooks says.  “I cannot imagine anything more worthy than saving women and children from trafficking.  Learning that the U.S. is one of the biggest consumers for trafficking worldwide made it even more real for me – this is happening in our backyards.”
How does The Dress Shop give back?  For every full priced new bridal gown sale, The Dress Shop donates $100 to OUR.  “So when a bride says ‘yes’ to her dress with us, she’s not only finding her dream dress, but she’s also saving the lives of people she’ll never meet,” Brooks said.  “It’s so just the coolest thing.  I am so grateful we have this opportunity.”
Human sex trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world.  Forced commercial sexual exploitation generates $173 billion globally in illegal profits per year (International Labour Organization 2024).  Over 49.6 million people are trapped in human trafficking worldwide, and 12 million are children (International Labour Organization 2022, United Nations 2023).
OUR focuses on three avenues: field operations, partnering with local and international law enforcement; survivor care, helping victims of trafficking heal and rebuild their lives; and training & prevention, developing tools to help individuals, organizations and communities recognize, report and prevent trafficking and child exploitation.  In 2024 alone, OUR:

• Supported 195 rescue missions and aided in 1969 arrests of sex trafficking perpetrators.
• Supported 1052 survivors, 71 survivor care homes and 123 NGOs providing survivor care.
• Funded 15 survivor-informed human trafficking trainings for 1560 law enforcement officers, providing 131 grants for digital forensics, and donated 24 electronic sniffing k9s to police.