Perception of Beauty
By Adriana Ortega
¨You can only perceive real beauty in a person as they get older¨ Anouk Aimee
I have volunteered for Beauty Night for 2 months; it’s been a life-changing experience. I have learned about patience, compassion, respect, empathy and so many other things more than I have in my whole life. Every Tuesday, I apply make up to our participants. Today, I had to apply make up to this beautiful women in her late 40´s or early 50´s. She asked me some tips about make up because she was looking for a job and wanted to know how she could look better and more presentable.
As I started talking to her, she tells me how hard has been to find a job for people her age, and even though she has all the energy to work, employers only want to hire young people.She tells me she is old and not pretty anymore. As I listen, I cant help thinking that sadly, most of the time this is true, but what it really hits me is to see how she actually believed she wasn’t beautiful anymore, and she was.
All the marketing and propaganda around us has made us believe that ¨beauty¨ is something that comes with ¨youth¨ and specific stereotypes; skinny, tall, perfect nose, perfect hair, etc., and there is nothing further from the truth. If you pay attention to all the ads, not only do they always use perfect photoshopped women, but always say things like ¨younger beautiful skin¨, ¨look 10 years younger and beautiful¨. The list is endless. As soon as you get older you automatically stop being beautiful. I see every day how those companies and products that claim to give us that ¨self confidence¨ are the ones that took it away from us in the first place.
All this makes me think about how we perceive beauty and how mistaken this perception is most of the time. Wouldn’t it be so much better if instead of saying things like ¨I want to look younger¨, we said ¨I want to age beautifully¨? or those ads instead of saying ¨Look younger and beautiful¨ said, ¨Look gorgeous at your age?¨ And that we started to appreciate beauty in all her forms and ages?
How would the world be if only we accepted and realized that each and every one of us are beautiful in our own and unique way? If only we didn´t let anybody else put us down and make us believe we are not beautiful and important? If only we respected other´s uniqueness, regardless of their age, origin and beliefs?
Perception of Beauty
Healing
Healing
By Bonnie E Stevens
Healing by Bonnie E Stevens
Healing is a long journey
You have to work on oneself
Learn to forgive oneself
Keep saying to yourself
It is not my fault
I will become a better person
Don’t be afraid to ask
For guidance
Speak to an elder with
Powerful words.
Pray to the creator
Cleanse one’s heart
To the Healing Tree
Hug, Share & love someone
Healing by Bonnie E Stevens 2nd Page
Talk it out in a circle
Cry, laugh, speak your
Mind
Healing is taken one day
At a time.
So my dear friends
I share how one feels
So have a nice healing journey.
** This is shared with Bonnie E Steven’s permission. We are grateful to be able to share her beautiful poem with you. Bonnie, thank you.
Volunteer Orientation on Tuesday! 5:30pm.
Do I need to do makeup?
We have many volunteer opportunities.
We have three streams of programming:
Makeovers (hair, makeup, manicures, relaxation massage)
Wellness (footcare, walk/run clinic/womyn gym)
Life Skills (literacy, goal setting, mentorship opportunities)
When these are combined together, they create opportunities for our participants to build self esteem and change their lives. Thanks to over 400 volunteers we have given over 11 000 life-makeovers in the past 10 years! If you are interested in getting volunteering for frontline work, we are holding our first volunteer orientation of 2011 on Wednesday, January 5th from 5:30pm to 8:30pm.
Volunteer requirements:
- Enthusiastic and excited about the opportunity to volunteer on a weekly basis on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday shift
- Great team player
- Innovative and eager to participate in program development
- Adaptable and comfortable working with women from different walks of life
- Possess appropriate certifications or enrolled in school for specialized volunteer opportunities (yoga, group fitness certification, food safe, health care diploma, enrolled in specific skill development programs)
- Interested in becoming serving on a committee or getting involved behind the scenes
For more information please fill in our volunteer form. * Julia, our volunteer coordinator will contact you.
Beautiful Ideas
Addiction: “physical or psychological dependence on psychoactive substances.” So says the dictionary. When beginning to volunteer with a population with addiction concerns, its tempting to generalize ‘dependent’ to describe the character of people with addiction – after all, many people with addictions are in need of food and housing support. However, I discovered at Beauty Night just how incorrect the generalization of dependence is.
Beauty Night provides beauty and wellness services to women in the downtown eastside, “building self-esteem and changing lives.” One night I was chatting with women as they waited for haircuts. Darlene seemed particularly nervous about her haircut and we chatted on a range of topics. Towards the end of the night, she finally told me the great significance of her hair cut: while she was a child, her mother was physically abusive to her little sister, holding her down by the hair. She told me how her sister had cut her hair really short to keep safe from their mother, and how she cut her hair too to show support for her sister. As Darlene shuffled away from me towards the darkness outside, she shrugged and said, “Everything starts as an idea…everything starts as an idea.”
Despite her limited resources, Darlene had empowered herself to support her sister with the only resource she could, her own hair. It was one thing to recognize what she could do, and another to follow through and do it – I’m inspired by Darlene’s courage and generosity. Such courage and generosity is prevalent among the women at Beauty Night. One woman told me how she gives away part of her annual food hamper as Christmas presents, and another about how she writes poetry to fund raise for the community. Another women keeps in contact with youths she used to nanny and provides a safe refuge for them to flee to at night.
So what are women in the DTES dependent on? What do they want from aid organizations? Insight about these questions came from one women who was furious because she felt she’d been skipped in the line-up. My first thought was to try to explain to her how she’d just misinterpreted the sign-up sheet, yet part of me knew it’d be futile – I’d spoken with this woman earlier and guessed she had a mental disability; she was unlikely to understand the mix up, especially while on the verge of throwing a tantrum. As I stood paralysed in dilemma, the coordinator of the event, Caroline, noticed the woman’s distress: Caroline walked up to her, put a hand on her shoulder and asked what wrong. And then Caroline simply said “I’m sorry.” The woman paused for a minute, then in a softer voice repeated her concern. Caroline again said “I’m sorry.” No excuses. No rationalization. No judgement. Simply empathizing and taking ownership. This respect was what the woman needed.
I’ve learned from Beauty Night that the services themselves are less important than how the women are treated in the process – they’re treated like they’re competent to make choices, have a right to want things a certain way, and are independent decision makers. People may become dependent on substances but they continue to maintain and cherish independence in other areas of their lives. As Darlene said, everything starts as an idea. Ideas worth respecting come even from unexpected people in unexpected places. The women of the downtown eastside have ideas to be heard and to inspire us. Ideas they’re not afraid to act on.
What’s your idea and what’s stopping you from doing it?
This story has been written by Julia Pon.
Seek it & Find it
An idea is just an idea if it stays in your head. Sometimes by sharing it, it can become real. - Caroline MacGillivray, Founder & Executive Director, Caroline MacGillivray
Several weeks ago, our Executive Director, Caroline MacGillivray met with Dr. Melissa Carr from Active Life Health Clinic to seek advice on how to bring acupuncture services to Beauty Night participants. “One of our focuses is to connect our participants to opportunities to improve their health & wellness. I had heard that acupuncture can be used reducing addiction and wanted to find out more about it before introducing it to our participants,” said MacGillivray. “Through an advisory meeting with Dr. Carr, I was able to pin point some of the key areas that acupuncture could benefit the lives of our participants.
Addiction, diabetes 2, depression, arthritis, HIV/AIDS, Hep C, and other health concerns that affect Beauty Night participants could be helped with acupuncture. “I had never tried acupuncture before so I had many concerns,” says MacGillivray with a smile, “Starting with my fear of needles. I was worried about the fact that many of our participants have experienced negative touch. Our makeover program is one of our methods to reintroduce touch in a non-threatening way. I wanted to make sure that participants felt safe.”
Dr. Carr spoke at our Volunteer Education 101 session on Wednesday, February 16th, 2011. According to program coordinator, Tiffany Telford both participants and volunteers were enthusiastic and excited about the concept of acupuncture services being offered at Beauty Night. The question was where would we find someone who could commit to coming twice a month to offer services.
“Vancouver is a small town,” said MacGillivray. “When we were offering outreach at one of our partner organizations, I ran into Laurel Irons, WISH’s Mobile Access Project program coordinator. Laurel and I have worked together before. I was excited as she was offering acupuncture through her mobile acupuncture company 5Shen. Without hesitation, I asked her if she would be interested in offering treatments for our participants.”
Laurel’s response?
“I’m looking forward to reuniting with Caroline MacGillivray & working with Beauty Night Society very soon. Acupuncture with the women 5:30 - 8pm at (our home base) PHS Lifeskills every 2nd & 4th Monday of the month, starting Feb 28. Beauty Night is a wonderful organization. Their vision statement: Because dignity is beautiful.” - Laurel Irons, 5Shen Acupuncture and Herbal Therapy.
With a smile, MacGillivray says, “It is perfect timing and a great fit. Laurel has worked with some of the most vulnerable women in Vancouver as a mentor and to provide acupuncture treatments. I am looking forward to welcoming her to Beauty Night.”
* As a side note, MacGillivray realized if Beauty Night was going to partner with 5Shen to offer acupuncture treatments to the women, it would be helpful to be able to describe how treatments felt. Thanks to Dr. Melissa Carr from Active Life Health Clinic, MacGillivray has become an acupuncture enthusiast! “After my first treatment, I felt completely blissed out,” said MacGillivray, “What a great thing to offer to our participants!”
Life-Makeover?
Makeover + Wellness + Life Skill Development = Life-Makeover
A life-makeover is an opportunity for participants to access the 3 streams of programming to build self-esteem & change their lives.
life skills + makeovers + wellness = life-makeovers.
Wellness (foot care - diabetes 2 screening, walk/run program, yoga & journaling)
Makeover (hair, makeup, nails, skin care, etc) - reintroduction of touch, connecting to community partners for food, shelter, health care
Life Skill Development (goal setting, visioning, personal budgeting)
Participants come in, be accepted as who they are today, make friends, learn new skills & connect to services and opportunities to become leaders in their own community. Since 2007 20% of Monday night volunteers are previous participants. Most have moved onto other organizations for employment & volunteer opportunities
One of our 2011 goals is to have the opportunity to train more of them & give them honorariums to develop the skills set for event facilitation.
Education 101
On the 3rd Wednesday of the month (known as cheque issue or “welfare Wednesday”, we have low turnout for participants. Starting in January 2011, program co-ordinator, Tiffany Telford & Executive Director Caroline MacGillivray decided to change that Wednesday into Volunteer Education 101.
“During the first session in January, our board walked in to see Lisa Dahling - who brings her massage chair down to offer services to our participants - teaching our volunteers & participants some relaxation massage techniques,” MacGillivray recalls. “It was great to see everyone connecting while developing different skill sets - volunteers and participants.”
“Everyone had a fantastic time. It solved the core issue which was to open or not to open on Cheque Issue. The numbers are low but we feel it is important to have somewhere for the participants to go. Some organizations are not open on Cheque Issue which does not encourage particpants to stay clean and sober.
It also helped us find a way to make sure we have enough volunteers for the times we do get more participants. We want to be able to find opportunities to reward them for coming in not just when they are in need. What we are doing is building a community through our three streams of programming - makeovers, wellness, and life skill development. Thanks to over 400 volunteers we are able to provide programming 3 to 4 days per week.”
This week had a variety of workshop leaders including:
Dr. Melissa Carr, Active Life Health Clinic spoke to our volunteers & participants about the benefits of acupuncture and different pressure points.
Anne Whitmore from Divafish Communications answered questions and offered guidance on goal setting.
Cory Thompson, trainer for Dermalogica set up a Skin Care Bar and taught his engaged audience of participants & volunteers the value of taking 10 minutes per day to take care of their skin. “I have never felt my skin feel so soft,” said one participant enthusiastically.
Laura Fairfield, one of our Sun Run walk/run team leaders spoke about our upcoming campaign & able fitness goal setting.
When asked about the future of this series, MacGillivray replies,”I am excited about having a forum for volunteers, supporters & participants to share their skills and knowledge. I hope that some day in the near future, we have some of the participants doing some of the presentations too.”
Do I need to do makeup?
“I don’t do makeup but I want to volunteer.”
We have three streams of programming:
Makeovers (hair, makeup, manicures, relaxation massage)
Wellness (footcare, walk/run clinic/womyn gym)
Life Skills (literacy, goal setting, mentorship opportunities)
When these are combined together, they create opportunities for our participants to build self esteem and change their lives. Thanks to over 400 volunteers we have given over 11 000 life-makeovers in the past 10 years! If you are interested in getting volunteering for frontline work, we are holding our first volunteer orientation of 2011 on Wednesday, January 5th from 5:30pm to 8:30pm.
Volunteer requirements:
- Enthusiastic and excited about the opportunity to volunteer on a weekly basis on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday shift
- Great team player
- Innovative and eager to participate in program development
- Adaptable and comfortable working with women from different walks of life
- Possess appropriate certifications or enrolled in school for specialized volunteer opportunities (yoga, group fitness certification, food safe, health care diploma, enrolled in specific skill development programs)
- Interested in becoming serving on a committee or getting involved behind the scenes
For more information please fill in our volunteer form.
Beauty Night in the News Week of May 3rd, 2010
Deadline for Board Position Application Tomorrow Noon
Our AGM will be held Wednesday, May 19th at 5:30pm at PHS LifeSkills Centre 412 East Cordova. We wish to fill two board positions. If you are interested in running for a position on our amazing board, please send your resume, bio, and two references to [email protected] before noon on May 3, 2010. We are looking for candidates for fill two board positions. Once the election is held during the AGM, our board members including newly elected officers will elect the executives on the board. Executive positions (may be filled by current board members or newly elected board members) include treasurer and co-chair. The bios of the candidates running for our upcoming election will be in the AGM package available on Wednesday, May 5th, 2010.
Thank You
Thank you to all of our contributors for your time, energy, talents and monies. Without you, we would not be able to provide as many life makeovers for vulnerable women through our fitness, literacy, child minding, makeover, and mentorship programming. It is thrilling how many people working together can make a huge impact in the lives of many.
Thanks to Jenni Graham, Courtney Krause, Danielle Robson, Laura Volpatti, Thea Cully, Sarah Honkenan, Tyla Flexman and Felicity Scott for inspiring our participants of our Womyns Gym program to do the Sun Run. Huge thanks to Sport Med BC (especially Lynn Kanuka) and the Vancouver Sun for making it possible.
Special thanks to Gwen Webster, 2nd term board member, current co-chair Gwen has been an inspirational co-chair and a wonderful front line volunteer. During her co-chair term, Gwen spearheaded the All I Want for Xmas and Beauty on the Boat events to raise funds for Beauty Night. She worked directly with the participants mentoring one participant who is gearing up to apply for hair school. “Gwen is a huge piece of “team beauty night” - our wonderful blend of board, staff, and volunteers. Her contribution of time, energy, and skills have been priceless to Beauty Night and to me. She made my transition from board to staff easier than I thought it would be. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful board and Gwen has been such a fantastic part of it,” says Beauty Night founder and national executive director, Caroline MacGilivray. “She is a dear friend and has contributed her time, energy and innovation to Beauty Night. Although Gwen is stepping off the board, I am thrilled that she is still on “Team Beauty Night.”
Contributing Monthly
If you wish to make a contribution to Beauty Night Society or becoming a monthly contributor, you can do so by clicking on https://beautynightsociety.pincgiving.com/. The more resources (volunteers, in kind and monitary contributions) raised, the more women and children we can provide safe spaces for them to be themselves, make friends and become leaders in their own communities.
In the Media
On Saturday, May 1, 2010, Beauty Night’s Women’s Gym Volunteers including special volunteer Sport Med BC’s Walk/Run Coach, Lynn Kanuka ( Olympic Bronze Medalist in 1984) were featured in the Vancouver Sun. 7 participants are training for the Sun Run on May 9th! Spearheaded by Kanuka, the Vancouver Sun sponsored the participant’s entries and sport med BC sponsored the web coaching. It was inspiring to have Lynn Kanuka on site training the participants last Monday. Volunteers and participants got to try Lynn’s coaching first hand, hold her Olympic Torch and hear many inspirational things. http://www.vancouversun.com/health/these+women+life+makeovers+challenge/2973151/story.html
This Thursday, Erin Shaw’s piece about our makeover program ran on ShawTV’s Express. This Wednesday, Erin will be covering the Womyns Gym Sun Run training session. As we count down the days until May 9th, the women continue to follow Sport Med BC’s web coaching. Special thanks to all of our Womyns Gym volunteers and Program Coordinators Tyla Flexman and Felicity Scott.
Social Media
Please join our face book fan page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Beauty-Night-Society/109332169098889
Or Follow our Twitter feed @beautynight
Every Woman in the World Silent Auction Items Needed
From Every Woman Founder Kerri, Carleson:
This is a request for donation for a Silent Auction Item or Welcome Bag Gift in exchange for exposure at every WOMAN - Whistler (May 14 to 16). Silent Auction proceeds go to Beauty Night Society and Dress For Success Vancouver.
You are receiving this e-mail because you have either supported every WOMAN in previous years or because we think that your business has some form of interest in health and women. Please ignore this e-mail if you have already confirmed your donation. And our apologies if you are receiving this in error.
You get:
- exposure in front of 250 participants (fun-filled woman professionals, entrepreneurs, empty-nesters, soul-searchers, adventure-seekers and health advocates - ages 25 to 72, but mostly 40 to 55)
- ability to add your profile to www.everywoman.ca - Exchange
- product displayed during Welcome Reception (or in Welcome Bags)
- company name listed on partner and supporter presentation during event
- $50 off your every WOMAN Registration - use promo code: ‘HEALTH’ when registering before May 9
Silent Auction Item
If you are interested, before May 9, please provide the following info:
- name of item
- value of item
- company name (as you would like listed)
Welcome Bag Gift
We are looking for 250 tangible items (not coupons or paper, unless there is a significant value). We realize there is a cost to this, so let us know what you are willing to provide and we can negotiate partner or sponsor status.
Delivery:
(Vancouver) Before May 12 - mail to Johanna Mramor, 1936 141A Street, Surrey, BC V4A 7R4
(Whistler) Before May 13 at 5pm - drop off att: Kerri Carlson or Paul Adams, Westin Whistler
*or let us know if we can come pick-up your item(s).
If you are interested in having an exhibitor table in the every WOMAN Marketplace, please e-mail us for more information.
Thank you so much for your support!
Kerri
Kerri Carlson
every WOMAN - Whistler
