Posts Tagged ‘volunteering’

“I think everyone wants to make a difference in someone’s life,” explains Beauty Night national executive director, Caroline MacGillivray, in her typical upbeat manner. Nine years ago, while volunteering at the WISH Drop In centre, Caroline dreamt up a unique way to make a difference in the lives of marginalized women in Vancouver’s eastside: Stage an event offering free makeovers for the holiday season.

A lofty plan with one major drawback. “I thought it would cost tons of money,” says MacGillivray. Never underestimate the power of the human spirit. Caroline put the word out to everyone on her email list. Volunteers began signing up—including students from Blanche Macdonald and the London School of Hairdressing and Aesthetics. Caroline’s home made posters advertised the event and within weeks, the first Beauty Night became a reality.

“The women were really excited,” says MacGillivray. What made Beauty Night an instant hit went far beyond haircuts, cosmetics and massages. The eastside women were given something they had rarely experienced—respect and dignity. “What we do is health care, fostering self-esteem,” explains MacGillivray. “When you believe in yourself, you’re more able to change.”

The women began asking for more Beauty Nights—and Caroline and the volunteers happily obliged. Beauty Night became a monthly event. MacGillivray created an eight week personal development program, including nutrition and fitness. Beauty Night started winning volunteer awards and now has weekly makeovers, fitness and yoga programs, and other events at the PHS Life Skills Centre. Since inception, the non-profit, volunteer run program has provided more than 11,000 makeovers to marginalized women in Vancouver, Victoria, and Toronto. Beauty Night is also creating more opportunities for the women to empower themselves. 20% of the Monday makeover clients have become Beauty Night volunteers.

On December 14th, Beauty Night turns 9, celebrating another noteworthy year. MacGillivray won the gold community spirit award at the Celebrating Women and the Spirit of the Cranes banquet. Katie Benjamin, a long-time Beauty Night volunteer, won a YWCA Young Woman of Distinction award for creating Womyns Gym, which are Beauty Night fitness programs sponsored through Telus.

December 14th is also the 7th anniversary of Beauty Night’s Stocking Drive. Spearheaded by Stocking Coordinator, Blair Lockhart, Product Coordinator, Revel Kunz, and Stockings Designer, Nancy Black, literally thousands of volunteers of all ages are involved. High School students from York House, Churchill Secondary, Prince of Wales, Van Tech and many more, local designers, and Kwantlen college fashion department students sew the stockings. Sparks, Brownies & Girl Guides decorate the stockings.

Thera Wise, BC Hydro, Carrie Wheeler Talent Management, and Blanche McDonald have been collecting donations of skin care, makeup, nail, dental, body, and hair care products to fill the stockings. Donations also include gloves and toques.

The December 14th festivities will also include Knit Fit, providing hand made scarves for Beauty Night clients. Founded six years ago by Laura Mah at the tender age of 11, Knit Fit volunteers include students from Chief Maquinna Elementary School, Templeton High School, Vancouver Technical Secondary School and Britannia Secondary School.

The stockings will be handed out to Beauty Night clients by some special holiday guests, Mrs. Claus and her elves. Laura and her KnitFit cohorts will also be making spirits bright by presenting scarves to the guests. Stockings will also be handed out at other events leading up to Christmas Eve.

Looking ahead, the New Year will ring in a brand new Beauty Night initiative. Inner Beauty Boot Camp will introduce self-care to Beauty Night clients and give them the the tools they need to continue their education, or find new employment opportunities. “It is amazing how far we have come,” says MacGillivray.

Beauty Night’s 7th annual stocking drive will be accepting donations, new hair, skincare, dental care, gloves and socks up until December 14th. For more information about donating product, snacks, money, or become a Beauty Night volunteer, please visit beautynight.org or contact Caroline MacGillivray at 778-885-4526.

Beauty Night Turns 9!

Date: Monday, December 14, 2009, 6 – 8:30pm
Location: PHS Life Skills Centre at 412 East Cordova

“I think everyone wants to make a difference in someone’s life,” explains Beauty Night national executive director, Caroline MacGillivray, in her typical upbeat manner. Nine years ago, while volunteering at the WISH Drop In centre, Caroline dreamt up a unique way to make a difference in the lives of marginalized women in Vancouver’s eastside: Stage an event offering free makeovers for the holiday season.

A lofty plan with one major drawback. “I thought it would cost tons of money,” says MacGillivray. Never underestimate the power of the human spirit. Caroline put the word out to everyone on her email list. Volunteers began signing up—including students from Blanche Macdonald and the London School of Hairdressing and Aesthetics. Caroline’s home made posters advertised the event and within weeks, the first Beauty Night became a reality.

“The women were really excited,” says MacGillivray. What made Beauty Night an instant hit went far beyond haircuts, cosmetics and massages. The eastside women were given something they had rarely experienced—respect and dignity. “What we do is health care, fostering self-esteem,” explains MacGillivray. “When you believe in yourself, you’re more able to change.”

The women began asking for more Beauty Nights—and Caroline and the volunteers happily obliged. Beauty Night became a monthly event. MacGillivray created an eight week personal development program, including nutrition and fitness. Beauty Night started winning volunteer awards and now has weekly makeovers, fitness and yoga programs, and other events at the PHS Life Skills Centre. Since inception, the non-profit, volunteer run program has provided more than 11,000 makeovers to marginalized women in Vancouver, Victoria, and Toronto. Beauty Night is also creating more opportunities for the women to empower themselves. 20% of the Monday makeover clients have become Beauty Night volunteers.

On December 14th, Beauty Night turns 9, celebrating another noteworthy year. MacGillivray won the gold community spirit award at the Celebrating Women and the Spirit of the Cranes banquet. Katie Benjamin, a long-time Beauty Night volunteer, won a YWCA Young Woman of Distinction award for creating Womyns Gym, which are Beauty Night fitness programs sponsored through Telus.

December 14th is also the 7th anniversary of Beauty Night’s Stocking Drive. Spearheaded by Stocking Coordinator, Blair Lockhart, Product Coordinator, Revel Kunz, and Stockings Designer, Nancy Black, literally thousands of volunteers of all ages are involved. High School students from York House, Churchill Secondary, Prince of Wales, Van Tech and many more, local designers, and Kwantlen college fashion department students sew the stockings. Sparks, Brownies & Girl Guides decorate the stockings.

Thera Wise, BC Hydro, Carrie Wheeler Talent Management, and Blanche McDonald have been collecting donations of skin care, makeup, nail, dental, body, and hair care products to fill the stockings. Donations also include gloves and toques.

The December 14th festivities will also include Knit Fit, providing hand made scarves for Beauty Night clients. Founded six years ago by Laura Mah at the tender age of 11, Knit Fit volunteers include students from Chief Maquinna Elementary School, Templeton High School, Vancouver Technical Secondary School and Britannia Secondary School.

The stockings will be handed out to Beauty Night clients by some special holiday guests, Mrs. Claus and her elves. Laura and her KnitFit cohorts will also be making spirits bright by presenting scarves to the guests. Stockings will also be handed out at other events leading up to Christmas Eve.

Looking ahead, the New Year will ring in a brand new Beauty Night initiative. Inner Beauty Boot Camp will introduce self-care to Beauty Night clients and give them the the tools they need to continue their education, or find new employment opportunities. “It is amazing how far we have come,” says MacGillivray.

Beauty Night’s 7th annual stocking drive will be accepting donations, new hair, skincare, dental care, gloves and socks up until December 14th. For more information about donating product, snacks, money, or become a Beauty Night volunteer, please visit beautynight.org or contact Caroline MacGillivray at 778-885-4526.

From Caroline MacGillivray:

Although we have been running the makeover program in Toronto for over 6 years, many people are surprised to hear about it. Ann Roche, who ran the Toronto programming resigned in December. It is going to be difficult to replace Ann. She has been a wonderful asset to Beauty Night.

I am in Toronto until April 8th looking for facilitators to run two makeover programs each month. I can be reached at 647-995-4526.

We are also looking for storage space for our supplies that have been stored at CAMH. CAMH is renovating their space and we are looking for new storage space in the downtown Toronto area. Please let us know if you know anyone who might be willing to donate space.

The Toronto events this week are:

Saturday, April 4th
Massage by donation
Aradia Fitness Toronto
721 Queen Street West
2-4pm
Females only
* I am still looking for volunteers for this event

Sunday, April 5th
CAMH
1pm Moving our supplies from one space to another
* CAMH has generously donated space for our storage and drop off location for supplies. We will be sorting and dropping off donations to other organizations that might need it. We will also be sorting through supplies that are older and need to find homes.

Monday, April 6th
Volunteer orientation
6pm
Starbucks Chapters.
We will be meeting at the Starbucks in Chapters at the corner of John and Queen Street West. If you have friends that might be interested in volunteering, please have them email or facebook me.

Although I am in Toronto working on Toronto Beauty Night, things are still active in Vancouver. Katie Benjamin and Tiffany Telford are running the makeover events in my absence. These two dynamic volunteers are busy in their own right.

Tiffany spearheaded the Xmas Beauty Night in Prince George and runs the monthly Beauty Nights in Coquitlam and at the Health Contact Centre. This month, she will be running the makeover program with CHIUS (community health initiative by university students) at Urban Native Youth Association. For these events, we are still looking for volunteers. Please facebook or text me if you are able to attend.

Wednesday, April 1
Health Contact Centre 6-9pm
166 East Hastings Street

Thursday, April 2
Kinsman Hall (Partnering with Soroptimists)
Port Coquitlam
6-8pm
The address for Kinsman Hall is 2175 Coquitlam Ave, Port Coquitlam, built in Aggie Park. The map is on the link below, and your team of volunteers may want to get the directions from the link.

http://maps.google.com/?q=2175%20Coquitlam%20Avenue%2C%20Port%20Coquitlam%2C%20BC.

Wednesday, April 8th
UNYA * please email for addresss
6-8pm

Katie Benjamin, a long time volunteer for Beauty Night has created her own initiative, Womyn’s Gym. Funded through Telus, Womyn’s Gym creates one on one personal training opportunities for Beauty Night clients. Together with Tyla Flexman and Miranda Landry, Katie has been training kinesiologist students to work with our clients. This initiative is in it’s third week. Goal setting, nutrition and fitness are key components of this wonderful program that runs on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

We are looking for child minding volunteers for the participants children. Alexa Fox has been coordinating the child care. We are in need of volunteers that have their criminal records check, extended first aid, current CPR, and enjoy working with children. Early childhood education is a huge asset.

We are also looking for green space in the Downtown Eastside to start a gardening project. We have had a donor offer donate apple and fig trees to this project. We just need somewhere to plant them. I am hoping this project will harvest food for our nutrition and fitness programs as well as a strong sense of community for the women. Perhaps if this happens before summer, we will be able to move our yoga classes under the shade of the trees.

On April 14th, we are adding our Chillaxing Wellness Nights to our existing programming. We will have a foot care clinic (pedicures) run by health care students and professionals; reiki, massage and reflexology. We are looking for more volunteers for this program. Orientation will be April 13th (Easter Monday). If you are a current volunteer, just let me know your availability.
The night will run in conjunction with our yoga classes, womyn’s gym, child care and women’s writing group that run on the Tuesday evenings. Thera Wise has donated product for our foot clinic and Sage has donated products for the relaxation services.

Thank you for everything that you do.

Sincerely,

Caroline
778-885-4526
647-995-4526

One of Vancouver’s most popular voices in the blogging community took a few minutes to interview Beauty Night Founder and President, Caroline MacGillivray.

http://www.miss604.com/2009/01/beauty-night-vancouver-an-interview-with-caroline.html

Thank you Miss 604.

Hi everyone, Happy New Year! Today is the first Monday back at Life Skills for the Makeover Program! I want to thank everyone who supported Beauty Night last year and hope that you continue to be involved this year! Our schedule is up under the volunteer 2009 schedule.

So far our schedule is similar to last year. Most of our programming is at Portland Hotel Society’s Life Skill Centre at 412 E Cordova. 6-9pm.

Makeover Nights Monday Nights from 6-9pm.

Stretch and Women’s Writing Group Tuesday Nights from 6-9pm.

Wednesday (first Wed of the month except July 1st) Health Contact Centre 166 E Hastings 6-9pm

Wednesday, Cheque issue - board meetings, location tba

Thursday,Chair Fit and Women’s Writing Group 6-9pm

On Monday, February 9th, we will celebrate Valentine’s Day. Thanks to the overwhelming response to our Annual Xmas Stocking Drive, we have managed to stuff 8 boxes of gift bags for our 2nd annual Valentine’s Day celebration. Last year, a certain gentleman dolled up in his tux and presented each lady with a box of chocolates and a rose. I am hoping we will be able to do the same thing this year. Our planning meeting for this event will be this Sunday at noon. Location TBA - please call me if you are interested in getting involved.

Starting in February 2009, Katie Benjamin and Tyla Flexman will be starting the Womyn’s Gym project. This program sponsored through Telus will be facilitated by Katie and Tyla. They will be coordinating kinesiologist students with Beauty Night clients. They will work on setting and achieving fitness goals on a one on one basis. Katie has volunteered for Beauty Night for years. Both Katie and Tyla have volunteered for the fitness program since September 2008 and we are excited to add personal training to the group fitness component.

Other developments are through the literacy program. We are just confirming upcoming workshops in blogging, journaling and card making. We are still taking applications for 3rd party fundraisers.

If you are interested in throwing one, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]. Previous 3rd party fundraisers have included hair cut a thons, fashion shows, auctions, and many more.

Beauty Night Toronto.

Toronto’s executive director Ann Roche has given her resignation. Ann has been a tremendous asset for Beauty Night. Toronto Beauty Night will not be the same without. She has been the life and soul of Toronto hosting two Beauty Nights a month. We are looking for volunteers to facilitate Beauty Night in Toronto. Please email [email protected] with a cover letter and your resume if you are interested in getting involved. Looking forward to seeing you in the New Year!

Sincerely, Caroline

Meet Laura Mah, founder of the Knit Fit Movement. Knit Fit is creating 200 scarves for Beauty Night clients by the December 25th. Laura has been running Knit Fit since 2003 at the tender age of 11! Present day, this vivacious 16 year old continues to do what she can to make a difference in the lives of women in the Downtown Eastside. about Knit Fit.

Beauty Night: Tell us about Knit Fit.

LM: Knit Fit first started in 2003, when I came up with the idea of getting a group of kids together in my elementary school to knit scarves for the less fortunate people of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. In our first year, we had about 40 kids get together and when Christmas came along, I had received 60 gorgeous scarves to give away at Caroline MacGillivray’s amazing organization, Beauty Night. Knit Fit continued until 2006, when the group decided to take a short break.

Now, here in 2008, Knit Fit’s back and we want to take this group to the next level. We currently have about 30 ambitious volunteers and the group is definitely growing.
Knit Fit is all about giving back. Though we may be making a small difference in our world, I believe we can make a significant difference in our community.

Beauty Night: What was it like as an eleven year old handing out scarves in the DTES.

LM: I remember the first day handing our scarves at Beauty Night! The experience was incredible. There was another time…it was close to Christmas time and it must have been my second time handing out scarves at Beaty Night.

I was standing there at my little scarf table and one of the security guards gave me a letter and he said that it was from a homeless man who was standing outside. I opened up the card and it said “Thank you, you have a way of touching other’s lives with your thoughtfulness. From the people of the downtown eastside. Merry x-mass and happy new year.” I still have the card! So to answer the question in short, I loved and still very much love volunteering.

Beauty Night: You have been involved with Beauty Night for a very long time. Tell me about the funding proposal you did for school.

In the Spring of 2008, many of the Grade 10 classes at my high school, Vancouver Technical Secondary, were asked to do a project for the Toskan Casale Foundation. This foundation had created a program called the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative. This program basically gives students the opportunity to work in groups and as a team, research and interview a particular non-profit organization. When the project is all finished, the students then have to present their organization infront of a set of judges, one of which is a representative from the Toskan Casle Foundation. The winner is then awarded with $5000 to donate to their organization that they presented!

I, along with 3 of my classmates, Kaja McNeil, Sadie Herbold and Tammy Nguyen, worked together and we proudly represented Beauty Night at the presentation. We made a short video which had clips of when we interviewed Caroline during a Beatuy Night, a poster, and a pamphlet. Although we did not end up winning the $5000 for Beauty Night, we all had such an amazing experiance while working on our project. We not only learnt about philanthropy, and Beauty Night, we also learnt so much about ourselves and each other.

Beauty Night: Why do you think Beauty Night is important?

LM: Where to start? Beauty Night provides so much more that just make overs and hair cuts. Literacy programs, fitness programs, and health programs are also programs that are apart of Beauty Night. These programs provide the women of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside with not only skills and services, but also with fun and confidence.

Beauty Night: Why do you think the women like the scarves so much?
LM: I think the women like the scarves because they provide warmth during our harsh winter season. But aside from that, the scarves that we make are pretty good looking! Right now, I’m working on two scarves, one for Knit Fit, and one for myself!

Beauty Night: What can people do to help out?

LM: We are currently in need of knitting needles and yarn. Donated knitting needles, yarn or money would help us help others.

Beauty Night: What about people who have no idea how to knit but would like to get involved?

LM: New knitters welcome! even if you don’t know how to knit, it takes about 15 minutes MAX to learn.

Beauty Night: How can people find out more information about this project?

LM: As terrible as it sounds, I rely A LOT on facebook. Join the group ‘KNIT FIT.’ and check out the recent news. I always send out messages to everyone about a week advance before our meetings. If facebook is NOT an option, but you are interested in volunteering, I constantly check my e-mail and my phone is always on!

Beauty Night: I don’t think that is terrible - facebook is a great marketing tool. Beauty Night Society has it’s own facebook group.

Laura Mah, founder of Knit Fit can be reached at [email protected] or778-386-3851.