Dressed up as Santa was I
When Rev dropped off 3 garbage bags
stuffed with knitted scarves.
“Ladies,” I announced, “Many
moons ago, my 11 year old cousin
wanted to volunteer all the time.
She wanted to help how ever she could
so she taught 50 kids how to knit.
The first year the kids made
40 scarves which we handed out.
For years and years,
this girl continued to get
kids to knit scarves to
keep people warm. Now
that she is in her 2nd year
of university, the knitting
project continues to grow. These
scarves (6 garbage bags full)
were made with love by kids
10, 11, and 12.
To keep you warm
and cover you in love.”
Touched each women
picked out a scarf
of her choice.

At the end of the night,
7 volunteers took delight
in handing out knitted love
to men and women
shivering in the streets.
Clean socks
warm scarves
friendly smiles
songs of love.

Thank you to all the
girls and boys
who knitted scarves
that created such love and joy.

Abundant in warmth
Hope and love keep us
Alive through out the night.

Video of Laura Mah, founder of Knit Fit

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsB6pB4VuXk[/video]

What started off as a special Christmas make over party, became a way to reintroduce touch to victims of violence. When attendees saw the physical change, they started to believe other types of change were possible. They attended literacy classes to show off their freshly painted nails, visited the health clinics to talk about how good they felt and walked out with an extra bounce in their step.

Working directly with the attendees, helped change the perception of many of our volunteers. One of our volunteers told us, “I go past these women every day on the bus but I don’t see them. Tonight I laughed and hugged so many of them. I can’t go back to not being able to see them.”

Last night we celebrated Beauty Night Society’s 9th birthday in Vancouver & Prince George. In Vancouver, the festivities started off with Christmas caroling. Volunteers, participants & their children sang Christmas tunes while creating Christmas cards. Thanks to accessing karaoke via youtube.com, we were able to get everyone singing and dancing.

Women and children gathered around the table with their children cutting and pasting ribbon to card stock. Womyn’s Gym coordinator, Tyla Flexman helped the women find stickers & pens as they sifted through the mountain of art supplies. Through words and art they found different ways to say thank you on paper. These cards were given to many of our volunteers.

Thanks to sponsorship through Liberty Wines & the the creative genius of Stacey Dallyn, the Beauty Night room was transformed into a winter wonderland. Wood land creatures sat under a White Christmas tree. Decorated in silver and gold, the words Beauty Night leapt out the fluffy snow that coated the walls.

Founding vice president of Beauty Night Society, Carly Teng was on hand as a roaming photographer. Carly captured pictures of the festivities of the evening. When our photography team was stuck in traffic, Carly stepped in and began to snap pictures of the women & Santa Claus.

Beauty Night board member, Dave Dickson’s eyes twinkled like St. Nick as women & children posed with him. Ten year old, Santa Helper, Katie Dalinghaus smiled pretty for the camera as she handed out the Nancy Black designed Xmas stockings to the women and children.

Stuffed to the brim with warm gloves, tooth brushes, dental care products, skin care, hair care, and body care products, the brightly coloured stockings Katie handed to the women. Like the first Beauty Night makeover event, the stockings contents came from stocking drive from individuals, churches, and businesses that wanted to contribute to Beauty Night’s 7th annual Xmas stocking drive. Led by Stocking Coordinator, Blair Lockhart, BC Hydro, TD Canada Trust, Ch2M Hill and Carrie Wheeler Talent Management and many more collected monies and products for us to fill those stockings.

Hundreds of high school students from York House, Little Flower Academy, Prince of Wales Mini School, Van Tech Secondary, Churchill Secondary School, Kwantlan College and many members of our community stitched the stockings. 5 – 7 year olds in sparks & brownie troupes decorated the stockings with their own personal flair.

Photographers Bruce & Sarah Culver set up the shots. Beauty Night volunteers & participants mugged for the camera. In the Beauty Night room, Tiffany Telford led the make over program. Carol Hogan, Ella Bak, Olivia Cammie, Meagan Stowe, Denise Van Gorkom, Margo Dalinghaus, and Amanda offered make up lessons, hair styling, manicures, mini massages and reiki.

Under the guidance of Kids Club coordinators, Alexa Fox and Sophia Hughes, women and children continued to create cards and occasionally break into a game of “jingle” tag.

While all the laughter- filled activity filled the room, Wendy Shuen and her volunteers bustled from room to room offering delectable goodies to the Beauty Night participants & volunteers. Almond cookies, fruit cake and mouth watering capicino chocolate biscuits satisfied our taste buds and our stomachs.

Throughout it all, DJ Joe, Tyla Flexman, Stacey Dallyn, Margo Dalinghaus, and Tiffany Telford bustled around making the event run smoothly.

Before the women headed out the door, Katie Dalinghaus gave them scarves created by Knit Fit Volunteers. Over 300 scarves were created by students from Elementary schools and High School students around the lower mainland. Spearheaded by Knit Fit founder & program coordinator, Laura Mah, hundreds of youth, seniors and children developed leadership skills and created scarves to keep people warm as they headed out into the snow.

In Prince George, our Beauty Night makeover event took place at Elizabeth Fry Society. Belly dance and self defense classes were held while women were offered make up application, hair styling, mini facials, manicures and much more.

Tonight – in Vancouver, we continue our celebrations at BC Women’s Hospital. Tiffany Telford, Ella Bak, Tyla Flexman, Caitlin Naylor and Lindsay McMillian will be handing out Xmas stockings and offering our makeover programming to the women in Fir Square.

As we head towards the end of the year, we have a few more events this week. In Toronto, the Xmas stockings & makeover program runs of December 17th – while Vancouver volunteers and contributors celebrate Beauty Night Society’s 9th Birthday on a Boat.

Beauty on the Boat enbarks at 7pm on December 17th. An evening on the sea with the music of Greg Cockerill and evening jaunt along the Vancouver coast. Tickets are $50 – proceeds to Beauty Night Society. For more information, please call 778-885-4526 or events@beautynight.org.

* For those who still have contributions to give, we are still handing out Xmas stockings and scarves on Xmas eve. Please contact us at info@beautynight.org.

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.

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.

While she and Jenny Tran embarked on the process of wrapping 300 hand made scarves, I asked Laura to fill me in on how many people have been involved in the Knit Fit portion of our annual Xmas Stocking Drive.

This morning, Jenna sent the following update to post:

Knit Fit has been busy getting out the word for why Knit Fit was established. In the past 2 weeks, Knit Fit has already visited 3 different schools to teach students how to knit and show them the importance of giving back. So far, Knit Fit has met Lord Beaconsfield Elementary, Lord Strathcona Elementary, and Chief Maquinna Elementary.

At Lord Beaconsfield, Knit Fit spoke with 2 different classes, and again will be visiting Wednesday to teach the kids how to knit.
At Lord Strathcona, Knit Fit organized a club for students who were interested in knitting. These meeting are held each Monday at lunch. At these meeting students will come together and knit, while enjoying their lunches and having good conversation.

At Chief Maquinna, Knit Fit attended their Peace Concert held in respect for Remembrance Day. Here Knit Fit talked about the background of Knit Fit in front of the Maquinna neighbourhood community, while also sharing some personal stories of how   Knit Fit has affected them.

When I did the math, I realized Knit Fit is actively involving hundreds of kids, youth, parents and teachers. When you combine those volunteer efforts with the volunteers that have been sewing and decorating the 600 Xmas stockings, we have a community effort that not only impacts the Beauty Night Society participants who receive the warm scarves and stockings, it also affects all of the people who contributed their time, energy, skills and money to make this project happen.

When I was interviewed by Telus Television last Monday, I was asked how many volunteers do we have and what the demographic of our volunteers are. I realized we have thousands of volunteers. Some who work directly with our participants. Others who constantly fundraise and create events to raise awareness and contributions so we can continue to provide tools for disenfranchised women and children to make positive life style choices and heal themselves and the community. Many who mentor the children in our community who teach them leadership and how they can impact someone’s life with their actions. The children and youth who believe if we give from our hearts, we can heal the world. When all of us work together, we  change lives.

In regards to working together, it is important to recognize that we learn things from everyone. Through laughter and love, we can combine the leadership development and contributions to change the world. When women wrap the warm scarves around their neck or when their eyes light up as they open up the stocking decorated especially for them, I believe it does the human spirit a great deal of good.

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.

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!

We have been doing the annual Xmas stocking drive for 8 years, what is working well?

What do we want to change?

How can we get more community members involved?

How do we get the message out?

How do we know if we meet the needs of the community?

What worked well was the dynamic community response to the Xmas Drive.  Seniors, industry professionals, parents, children, youth and tweens wanted to contribute their time, energy, money and resources. Through word of mouth and positive media coverage this event has more volunteers wanting to get involved.

To increase word of mouth, Christie and I spent several afternoons with Knit Fit volunteers. Our training sessions included:

• Social media training. How to use facebook, twitter and word press to share their stories of volunteering
• Christie Gray created accounts for the volunteers who were interested in blogging. They have been contributing their stories on this blog about the Knit Fit and Stocking Drive.
• Board member, Bill Nevison created a video of last year’s Xmas Stocking Drive celebration and posted it on You Tube. We encouraged the volunteers to use the video to show people what we do. People get 90% of their information from what they see and 10% from what they hear. Sometimes pictures work well – especially seeing the distribution of the stockings and scarves.
• Public Speaking. I have heard that some people fear having to speak in front of people more than death. The volunteers prepared a speech about Knit Fit and Stocking Drive. Like monologues, we worked through the speeches. We worked on the key messaging, breath work, completing the thought and the writing. We work-shopped the speeches to make sure each speech felt like it sounded like the person who was delivering the speech.
• Policy & Procedures. Together we discussed leadership techniques and guidelines for working with children and peers. We discussed how to create a safe and enjoyable space for volunteers to feel empowered and become actively engaged in the projects we are creating. Working together, we came up with some fantastic ideas and put them into motion.

What we are doing is working. Last weekend when Beauty Night Society volunteer, Denise Von Gorkum and I took several Beauty Night participants to the Models of Inspiration Filmathon, we ran into one of the parents of our Knit Fit volunteers. She thanked me for being a good role model for her daughters and their friends. She asked if we needed more volunteers for our Kids Club program. She offered to drive the girls who wished to volunteer to and from our location.

I am thrilled that people want to get more involved with the programming. This week we have been having meetings with volunteers and community members who want to offer other programs for our participants. Digital story telling, inner beauty boot camp, blogging, yoga classes and nutrition classes are some of the program options we are considering. While we continue to create opportunities for our participants, we keep the line of communication open with our participants and community partners. We want to make sure what we are offering is what the women want and that starts with asking for feed back.

Thanks to DJ Joe, our participant facilitator we have been able to ask for feed back from our participants.  The general consensus is positive. Thanks to DJ’s constant queries, we are making some adjustments in our times and days for programming to make sure we are giving the women what they want.

The participants love the concept of joy and celebration. We have managed to include that in our regular programming. This past week’s programming included Beautilicious Halloween Celebration, Mom & Tot pumpkin carving sessions and pumpkin fitness classes. Through innovation and constant feedback, we continue to evolve our programming as we work together with our contributors, volunteers and participants.

As for our Xmas Activities, the women love the stockings and the Knit Fit scarves.  What they would like to see is a way they can help with the planning. We have started inviting participants to our stocking cutting sessions. Although the participants have not attended these sessions, they seem to enjoy being asked.

Volunteers from York House School, Churchill Secondary, Kwatlan College – Fashion Design Program, Van Tech Secondary, Little Flower Academy, and individual sewers have stitched up stockings. Stocking Coordinator, Blair Lockhart has been collecting the sewn stockings and dropping them off to groups of children to decorate them. Sparks (5-7 year olds – before Brownies), Brownies and Girl Guides are getting together to decorate and in some cases fill the stockings.

Last year Revel Kunz opened up her home to the Rangers (one of groups of children who sewed and decorated stockings). The Rangers spent one Monday evening filling 130 stockings! By encouraging children and youth to get involved, I believe it helps them understand that we can impact someone’s life. When we work together, we can change the world.

I hope you enjoy the Halloween festivities. Stay tuned for our Xmas Wish List for our 8th Annual Xmas Stocking Drive.