"None of us are home until all of us are home" is the slogan for Project H.O.M.E. out of Philadelphia.
Project H.O.M.E. (Housing, Opportunities for Employment, Medical Care, Education) empowers people to break the cycle of homelessness, address the structural causes of poverty, and attain their fullest potential as members of society.
I was very lucky to be invited by my dear niece, Theresa, to join her in a special night in a fancy Philly hotel at a fashion show. (Chuck, thanks for the tickets!) Now my first thought was...FASHION SHOW....UGH!!!! What in the world am I going to wear??? This is ME we are talking about. The girl that was grateful that at her new job she was asked to wear "clothes you don't care about getting dirty" because we deal with paint and glaze and dust and dirt. The girl who has two children and an overzealous pooch and therefore has stains and holes in everything. The girl (and I kid you not) that STILL wears things I have worn in college (if they fit). I'm 38...do the math. Anyhow...fashion is something I strive to attain someday. The ability to know it, buy it and strut my stuff in it is a long term goal but low on my list of priorities in my current life.
The only thing that could drag my droopy, stained and outdated butt out of my fashion hole was a night in honor of a special cause with someone I consider to be pretty special herself. So I found some halfway decent outfit and accessorized as best I could and even wore strappy little shoes that made me want to cry by the end of the evening.
We were greeted by a plastic glass of white wine and made our way through the crowd to the festivities. Sponsors were there touting their goods and a raffle was being held. We placed our tickets into baskets with the hopes of winning some goodies. We also tasted a few of the morsels of food going past us in the crowd. There was some entertainment and lots and lots of cameras with very fashionable people to photograph. We were even asked to pose for a shot (even if only appearing in the magazine in Theresa's head). Then the true event began...
The show had a famous emcee...Emme...the woman who gave real women everywhere some hope. She was brilliant. Funny and gorgeous and genuine. She was announcing the women and the outfits that graced the runway. They were all shapes, sizes, colors and ages. Oh, and from all walks of life. Some were famous business women, news anchors and meteorologists. Others were women who had fought bulimia or were inspirational speakers. Some were survivors of cancer. Still others were women who had battled addiction and homelessness. There they all were strutting their stuff in a celebration of women. Women. We are all self conscious about something, all have needed encouragement from time to time, are daughters, sisters, friends, mothers. There we all were enjoying how beautiful women can be and I don't just mean the outfits. Tears came to my eyes as the stories were told of the struggles of these women. Some had to find a safe place to raise six children while they were battling drugs and no education. Others had to find their way through the challenges of being a strong woman in a man's business world. Some had to fight their way through eating disorders. They were athletes, business women, teachers, volunteers, lawyers, recovering alcoholics, accountants, and grandmas. They were women. Strong and successful and proud each in their own way. And man did they make those shoes look good.
It was a crowd full of energy. It is a group dedicated to helping women and families find their way home. H.O.M.E. It was a beautiful celebration of the outcome that can happen when people rally together and help one another. The vibe of compassion and love overpowered the need to be thinner or more wealthy or any of the other darn things that get in our way. It brought us all back to what really matters. A true inspiration.
If you feel compelled to do something good today please consider a donation to a wonderful cause and don't forget to tell the women in your life how wonderful they are for all of the reasons that make them shine...with or without the sparkly shoes.
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