Knit Fit | Beauty Night Society

Wish List

November 2, 2009 By caroline Leave a Comment

In 9 years, the award-winning non-profit program has provided 10,000 makeovers to marginalized women and youth in Vancouver, Prince George, and Toronto. Beauty Night Society’s Monday makeover night on December 14th will include some North Pole notables—Mrs. Claus and her elves handing out Christmas stockings designed by Nancy Black. “This is the seventh year of our annual stocking drive,” says Caroline MacGillivray. “on December 14th, we will be handing out 600 Xmas stockings and 500 scarves in Toronto, Prince George and Vancouver.”

Typically, Beauty Night Society’s Monday makeover night at the PHS Life Skills Centre in Vancouver unites an impressive roster of Lower Mainland volunteers. Hairdressers, makeup artists, estheticians, massage therapists, plus many more volunteers join forces to offer services for the women.

Carrie Wheeler Talent Management, BC Hydro, and TD Canada Trust have been collecting donations of skin care, makeup, nail, dental, body, and hair care products to fill the stockings with. Other donations include gloves and toques. Beauty Night Knit Fit founder and program coordinator, Laura Mah have been offering knitting clinics to children in our communities. By knitting the community together, Beauty Night Knit Fit volunteers have knitted hundreds of scarves to hand out with the stockings.

Beauty Night Society Birthday party will also be making spirits bright for both volunteers and their makeover subjects with Christmas movies and other Xmas goodies. “This event is a tremendous community effort! Hundreds of volunteers have contributed thousands of hours to make this event special,”says MacGillivray, “Since the summer months, we have been cutting stockings and knitting scarves.”

The community has kicked in to help. Spearheaded by Beauty Night’s Stocking Coordinator, Blair Lockhart, designer, Nancy Black, Beauty Night Knit Fit’s Laura Mah and Product Coordinator, Revel Kunz, many more volunteers throughout the community have helped make this event a reality. Students at Chief Maquinna Elementary School, York House School, Churchill Secondary, Prince of Wales Secondary, Van Tech Secondary, Little Flower Academy, and many more helped sew the stockings and knit scarves. Canada Trust, Carrie Wheeler Talent Management, and BC Hydro have been collecting donations of skin care, makeup, nail, dental, body, and hair care products to fill the stockings with. Other donations include gloves and toques.

For more information about donating product, snacks or money, please contact Caroline MacGillivray at info@beautynight.org. Media welcome. Beauty Night’s 7th annual stocking drive will be collecting new hair, nail, skincare, dental care, gloves and socks before December 1st.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: BC Hydro, beauty night, beauty night society, Blair Lockhart, caroline macgillivray, Carrie Wheeler Talent Management, Christmas, community, Knit Fit, KVOS 12, laura mah, volunteer, xmas stocking drive

Feed Back from An Amazing Woman

October 31, 2009 By caroline Leave a Comment

I love getting feed back. When it is negative, it helps the evaluation process. When it is positive, it feels like looking the tooth fairy came to visit. This morning, I opened up my email and found an email from a new volunteer, Margo Dalinghaus. Margo is the founder of Liberty Education. Next weekend (November 7 & 8, 2009) several of our Beauty Night volunteers and participants are participating in her Amazing Women Weekend.

With her daughter, Katie, Margo started volunteering for Beauty Night Society’s Knit Fit.

“Wanted to send you a blurb re the huge impact Knit Fit has had on my life so far in such a short time. Many, many gifts…

When I heard about what you were doing – as I mentioned – I was covered with “truth” bumps and got tears in my eyes. I definitely felt called to participate. GIFT OF EXCITEMENT AND KNOWING.

I was quick to get to your Open House to meet you GIFT OF INSPIRATION and also took my 10 year old daughter to a Knit Fit orientation with Laura. Learning about your organization has led to a series of very bonding and life learning moments for myself, my daughter and our family at large.. right away Katie and I set up a “date” with Grandma so that Grandma could teach Katie to knit and little Katie was so excited and proud to tell her Grandma and Grandpa why she needed to learn. And yes – they were very proud of her.GIFT OF PRIDE AND ESTEEM. So mom (me) and Katie got to spend a wonderful evening with Grandma- and Grandma got to feel purposeful in teaching us what she knew. Watching Grandma show Katie with such patience and love was a gift and reminder re the importance of legacy in our childrens lives. GIFT OF LEGACY.

Then Katie and I decided that this was a great opportunity for Katie to be a leader and leave her imprint on her classmates re the importance of giving back… GIFT OF LEADERSHIP AND GIVING. Katie asked Laura and Jennifer if they would come to her class to help her teach her classmates to knit – so that as a group they can have a “challenge” to do as many stockings as possible for marginalized women and children on the downtown eastside of Van. They said YES – GIFT OF MENOTRSHIP,RECEIVING and CHALLENG.

In preparation, Katie and I have been knitting together where we might not otherwise have spent such quality time. When we knit we get the chance to talk and share. GIFT OF CONNECTION. And we have a new rule that we cannot watch TV unless knitting…. GIFT OF QUALITY TIME and PURPOSE.

When the class works together on their scarves, I know that the children will receive many gifts too… I imagine they too will see the value of :
FRIENDSHIP
COMMUNITY
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
SERVICE, AND
LOVE….. to name just a few!!

Thank you for doing what you do.” Margo Dalinghaus.

We are thrilled to be participating in the Amazing Women’s Weekend and hope to offer the Inner Beauty Boot Camp to our Beauty Night participants!

Filed Under: Healthy Living, Knit Fit, Volunteer Profile Tagged With: amazing women weekend, beauty night, beauty night society, Jenny Tran, Knit Fit, knitting, laura mah, liberty success, Margo Dalinghaus

Exciting Beauty Night Events

October 23, 2009 By Christie Leave a Comment

There are a lot of things going on with Beauty Night over the next week.

Tomorrow is the Models of Inspiration Filmathon you can read about here. We are very excited to be education and empowering some of our participants through this Filmathon.

Sunday we have a Knit Fit event at Brittania from 1-3pm. There is also a stocking cutting session at Nancy Black’s house in the afternoon, and a volunteer orientation from 4:30-6:30 as well. Please email info@beautynight.org for more information.

Monday is the Beautilicous Halloween Event, with face painting, halloween make up, manicures and a photoshoot!

(art work by the very talented Tiffany Telford)

Tuesday we have the Mom and Tot Halloween Festivities, with pumpkin seed roasting, pumpkin carving, face painting and the start of our Mom and Tot cooking series.

The next 4 days are filled with fun and exciting programming. If you want to help, email info@beautynight.com and we will find a fit for you!

Have a great weekend everyone

Filed Under: Children's Programming, Donations/Fundraising, Fund Raising, Healthy Living, Knit Fit, Xmas Stocking Drive Tagged With: beauty night, christmas stocking drive, downtown eastside, fundraising, Knit Fit, nancy black, volunteers

We’ve come a long way!

October 22, 2009 By Christie Leave a Comment

It’s hard to believe that Beauty Night Society is almost 9! A lot has changed as we have grown, and a lot more will change as we continue to grow.
The Vancouver Sun wrote this story about our 8 year anniversary.
Since then, our programming has continued to expand, with thanks to our generous volunteers and supporters. We really couldn’t do this without you!
We’re at the start of our busiest season. If you’re interested in volunteering, please email info@beautynight.org to see about opportunities. If you would like to donate yarn or knitting needles for Knit Fit, that would also be wonderful.
We are trying to raise funds to buy products to put into our Christmas Stockings as well. Having funds allows us to buy in bulk, which is beneficial to the women. We love product as well, but it does have to be unused and unopened to ensure our clients feel dignified. Just think, would you like to receive a half used bottle of shampoo in your stocking?
We are also gearing up a Mom and Tot nutrition program, where we will be teaching Moms how to cook simple, healthy recipes under the constraint of it having to be prepared on a hotplate since that is the tools they have available. If you would like to donate crockpots or other kitchen supplies (such as tupperware), we would love that too!

I’m excited about what the future holds for Beauty Night, and I can’t thank you enough for making all of this possible.

Filed Under: Children's Programming, Donations/Fundraising, Fund Raising, Healthy Living, Knit Fit, Xmas Stocking Drive Tagged With: beauty night, caroline macgillivray, downtown eastside, Knit Fit, makeovers, Vancouver, volunteer opportunities

BNS’ Leading Ladies (Our Program Coordinators)

October 19, 2009 By caroline 1 Comment

Behind each Beauty Night Society (BNS) Program, there is a fantastic program coordinator. Without these ladies, our programs would not benefit our communities through the vast diversity. Each program offers a piece of the body/mind/spirit puzzle that many of us struggle with. Each program coordinator is a leader in her own right and inspires our participants and volunteers.

Tyla Flexman
Womyn’s Gym Program Coordinator

Tyla Flexman is a recent kinesiology graduate of the University of British Columbia. She is very interested in the health and fitness field and is a personal trainer as well as a community field hockey coach. Tyla has six years of coaching experience including coaching high school sports, development camps and provincial high performance teams. Her hardworking attitude and determination is what makes her a positive role model for young athletes in the community. She is a strong advocator of women in sport and strives to encourage female participation in exercise. She began volunteering for the Beauty Night Society in 2008 and is now the program coordinator for the Womyns Gym Program. She currently plays on the Canadian Women’s National Field Hockey team and was the 2008 recipient of the Gail Wilson Award, given to a female varsity athlete displaying leadership on the field and in the community. Tyla is excited to be a part of The Beauty Night Society and hopes to run the Sun Run this year with Womyns Gym clients!

Alexa Fox
Kid’s Club Program Co-coordinator
Mom & Tot Nutrition Program Co-coordinator

Christie Gray
Mom & Tot Nutrition Program Co –coordinator

Christie Gray has been a Vancouver resident for a year and a half. With a strong belief in helping people reach their potential and feel good about themselves, Christie finds Beauty Night Society(BNS) a great place to help make a difference. Christie is a Registered Natural Health Care practitioner with a love of cooking and formulating healthy, nutritious recipes. Christie believes that there is a strong connection between eating well and health in mind, body and spirit and hopes to help more people understand that connection through her work with BNS.

Sophia Hughes
Kid’s Club Program Co-coordinator

Caroline MacGillivray
Group Fitness Program Coordinator

Laura Mah
Knit Fit Program Coordinator & Founder

Laura Mah is currently in her final year of high school at Vancouver Technical Secondary. In 2004, Laura was strongly inspired by her cousin and the Founder of Beauty Night Society, Caroline MacGillivray, and created a knitting club at her elementary school. Now known as Knit Fit, this small group has transformed into a diverse program made up of individuals from all around Vancouver. The goal of Knit Fit is to knit scarves for the homeless and less fortunate people of Vancouver’s Downtown East Side and at the same time, to teach people the importance of giving back to our community through a fun new skill and hobby. This year, Knit Fit has expanded to elementary and high school. Six schools in Vancouver have been involved in Knit Fit so far. Every year, Knit Fit hands out scarves at Beauty Night Society’s annual Christmas Stocking Drive event, and we are in highly anticipating this year’s event! Laura cannot wait to see what Knit Fit has in store for the future. Laura is also largely involved at Vancouver Technical Secondary, and has served on the Student Council for the last 5 years; this year, serving at the council’s President.

Tiffany Telford
Makeover Program Facilitator (Vancouver)

This Blanche MacDonald Make up Program graduate started volunteering for Beauty Night’s makeover program in February 2008. She had just moved to Vancouver and was looking for a volunteer opportunity and “loved it”. Tiffany loved it so much in December 2008, she brought Beauty Night to her home town. She facilitated a Christmas make over night in Prince George. When she came back to Vancouver, Tiffany became Beauty Night’s Outreach facilitator. Since May 2009, Tiffany facilitates our makeover program events on a weekly basis. Her fresh innovative ideas help strengthen participant relations, volunteer coordination and creating posters for our events. When she is not at Beauty Night, this makeup artist works on film and television projects shooting in Vancouver.

Saafi Warsame
Makeover Program Facilitator (Toronto)

Saafi has recently relocated from Vancouver and is helping facilitate Beauty
Night events in her new city of Toronto. She truly enjoys interacting with
Beauty Night participants, from sharing life stories to discussing the best way to apply nail polish. Saafi is also a volunteer with North York Women’s shelter as well as a couple of organizations that run in the Somali
community. In her spare time, she reads a lot and is looking to become a
lawyer.