Beauty Night Makes Top 7 For Social Media Awards

We are thrilled to be one of the top 7 finalists for Social Media Awards 2013 in the Best Not for Profit Campaign. “Social media made it possible to help spread the word for our 12 Days of Xmas Campaign,” says Caroline MacGillivray, Beauty Night Society Founder, “Our campaign helps us spread a little more joy during the holiday season thanks to hundreds of volunteer elves who sew, decorate, fill and deliver 1500 stockings. This year we over shot our goal and did 1600 stockings.”

If you would like to vote for our cause, you can do so every day!

If you want to find out more about our 12 Days of Xmas campaign, here are a few moments captured on camera.

Santa’s Helpers Gear up for 12 Days of Xmas Campaign

During the holiday season, one of my favorite parts is watching community come together to spread joy. One of the ways we do that is through our 12 Days of Xmas Campaign. Fashion Designer, Nancy Perreault designs a stocking. Community members sew and decorate them.

Some of our Santa’s Helpers collect donations to fill the stockings and help deliver them to women and youth in shelters, 1st and 2nd stage housing, drop in centres and hospitals. From December 12-24th, volunteers dressed as elves deliver stockings and Christmas cheer.

Volunteer Paris Mallin started volunteering for Beauty Night with her mother, Tamara three years ago. For the 2nd year, Paris has asked her classmates at Ecole Sherwood Park to help. On December 3rd, Paris and her grade 3 class decorated stockings that will be filled by volunteers this weekend.

We’ve had hundreds of volunteers help sew, decorate and fill the stockings. Some of the volunteers are from York House, Carson Graham Secondary, Bal Moral Secondary, churches, girl guides and corporations. Here are some of the snap shots of our elves at Ecole Sherwood Park and the stockings they have decorated.

Paris Mallin and her classmates at Ecole Sherwood Park hold up the stockings they have decorated.

12 Days of Xmas Campaign

Collecting Self Care Products to Fill 1500 Xmas Stockings

Every year fashion designer, Nancy Perreault designs a stocking. Volunteers elves (huge thank you to Sharon, Stephanie, Jenny, Simone, Darnelle, Gillian, Lisa, Wendy, Angela, Mallora, York House School students, Krista, Jana, Gary, Trilby, Dominique, Tracy and more) made sure the stockings were sewn and dropped off in time for our decorating elves to decorate (thank you to Stephanie & her church, Mallora, Tamara,Sandy, Monica,Blair, Carson Graham Students, York House Students, Alexandra Elementary School Students, Gary’s students, and many many more).

We are collecting goodies to fill the stockings. In the next few weeks During the holiday season, Santa’s elves (Team Beauty Night members) sew stockings, decorate stockings, collect and fill stockings with self-care products, and deliver them to women in need throughout the shelters in the lower mainland. From the 12th to the 24th in addition to our regular programming we will be handing out stockings.

 

We are collecting new items including:

Socks

Dental floss & tooth paste

Gloves

Journals & pens

Samples sizes for body care, hair care, nail care, skin care products

Jewelry (new - or current - bought in past 2 years)

 

Huge thank you to:

London Drugs for donating makeup and 1500 tooth brushes

Eminence Skin Care - face mask

 

Our Drop Off Locations BEFORE Dec 1

Gastown Physio & Pilates

306 -560 Beatty Street

Vital Health

1855 West 4th Avenue

Prettier in Green

3633 Main Street

Hive Vancouver

128 West Hastings #210

 

We will be filling stockings on December 8th OR 9th at the HIVE Vancouver. Dates & Times to be confirmed. Carrie Wheeler from Carrie Wheeler Entertainment Group will be helping coordinating volunteers & site management on day of. Once date & time is confirmed, we will open up volunteer sign ups. It will be a pot luck too - great way to connect with everyone.

* We are also looking for volunteers for our joint event on Dec 15th - fashion show at The Hive Vancouver details below in regards to event. Hair, Make up Team, dressers, etc.

Sewers Needed for 12 Days of Xmas Campaign

Fashion Designer, Nancy Perreault designs an Xmas Stocking. Community members and high school textile class students who want to volunteer, pick up the fabric and are given the stocking pattern.

The stockings need to be sewn and dropped off to Beauty Night before November 15th. At that stage, the stockings will be picked up by community groups and elementary school students who would like to decorate the stockings.

We (Team Beauty Night) go into the schools to engage students to have discussions about the cycle of poverty and how we can bring change and hope into the lives of people in the cycle of poverty. The stockings are decorated and dropped off by December 1.

Companies and individuals fill the stockings with self care and luxury products. There are several drop off locations in the Lower Mainland by December 1. By December 8th, stockings are filled. Volunteer Elves are able to pick up stockings and are on schedule for the next 12 days to drop off the stockings with Santa’s helpers.

By December 24th, we will have handed out 1500 Xmas stockings for women and youth living in poverty.

Here’s a video created by Bill Nevison capturing Team Beauty Night handing out the stockings during our annual Xmas party (included during our 12 days of Xmas Campaign) in 2008.

FAQ
Q. I sew and would love to help. How do I get involved?
A. Email Caroline at Beauty Night dot org with “Sewing Volunteer” in Subject Line.
She will email pattern to you and coordinate when you can come pick up a bolt of fabric to sew stockings. (Pick up location is around 13th and Granville area)

Q. Is it hand sewing?
A. It can be - but this project is geared towards sewing machine

Q. I have a group of students that would love to help decorate stockings
A. Email Caroline at Beauty Night dot org with “12 Days of Xmas Stocking Decorating Group” in Subject Line. She will coordinate pick up of stockings. Stockings will need to be dropped off by December 1.

Q. How do I decorate the stockings?
A. Many of the groups who have decorated stockings in the past have used glitter, paint, ribbon, buttons and additional craft supplies. Each stocking is unique and we are thrilled with the sheer volume of help we have had.

Q. What kind of sponsorship/items are you looking for to fill stockings?
A. All products must be new and unused. Tooth brushes, tooth paste, dental floss, nail files, nail polish, shampoo, conditioner, skin care products, socks, gloves, journals, pens, and much more.

Q. Why can’t I donate gently used product?
A. We try to follow the guidelines of Health & Safety Canada. Some of our participants have compromised immune systems we want to make sure that anything we give to them is safe and make them feel good.

Q. Do the product donations have to be the same?
A. No. We let the women know each stocking is individual. They are encouraged to share or trade items that them may not use.

Q. Where can I drop off product?
A. Product Drop off locations are to be confirmed. Drop offs will need to be dropped off by December 1.

Q. Are there other ways I can help?
A. We are looking for volunteers with cars who can help with transporting stockings and donations from drop off locations to the ladies.

Q. Any other ways I can help?
A.
Spread The Word
Follow us on Twitter
Join our conversation on Facebook

Donate
Every dollar counts. Last year we served 200 people each week during our programming 4 days each week on $44, 845.
You can:
make a one time donation
become a monthly donor
throw a fundraiser
create a giving page and ask friends to support our cause (great for birthdays, weddings, fitness goals)

Thank you for your on going support to our cause

Beauty Night in the Media

Huge thanks to CKNW, CBC First Edition, CBC News and West Ender for capturing our 11 year anniversary celebration yesterday. Here are some of the links to the coverage:

CKNW: Lives getting better by Cosmetics?

CBC: Downtown Eastside Women Treated to Makeovers

CBC: Early Edition Full Show December 19th