Gail is a single mother who became physically disabled after severe domestic abuse. She lost not only her health, but her career, her home, her savings and her self-esteem. She wrote to us after seeing a story about one of our recent food distributions which included cosmetics donated to by one of our generous corporate partners.
“I know in a world where people are starving and homeless and jobless, some may consider [distributing free makeup to women] silly.”
But Gail, who had received a similar gift of makeup when she was living in extreme poverty, recognized the transformation power of the gift. At the time, she had very low self-esteem, and no money to spend on herself. The gift of cosmetics helped transform Gail’s self-image; it also helped transform her in the eyes of others.
“In our society, you can’t ‘look’ like you live in poverty if you want to rise above poverty,” said Gail. “People classify you by your economic external representation.”
According to Gail, the gift of makeup—and the confidence it brought—helped create real transformation in her life. “Having the ability to define myself in a manner which was equal to [others] changed many things.”
As Gail gained confidence, she was eventually able to complete her degree and get back on her feet.
We are grateful for the support of our generous corporate partners who allow us to include a little something “extra” at our food distributions for women in need. We hope such gifts allow more women like Gail to regain the confidence they need to lift themselves out of poverty.
Hi! I like your srticle and I would like very much to read some more information on this issue. Will you post some more?