at the end of last year i hosted my second blogger’s networking event at adoro lei in conjunction with the ‘fill a purse for a sister’ campaign. giving back to women in need around the holidays felt AMAZING and i am so happy i had my blogger buds by my side to do it. read on for a full recap of the event, photos by leslie moncada photography, and some background on this fantastic charity.
i met angel freedman through the powers of social media. my cousin, a canadian, knows angel in person and when she heard about angel’s (genius) campaign, she reached out in hopes that i could throw something in new york to help the idea gain exposure. at the time, it had only made it’s way around locally in the greater toronto area. the ‘fill a purse for a sister’ campaign works to provide gently used purses to women at domestic violence shelters. inside the purses are everyday essentials – toiletries, sanitary products, beauty products, and even sometimes notes of encouragement! the first step towards getting out of a rut is having the self-confidence to make changes in your life. we all experience this on some level, and for these women, revamping their lives is crucial.
i thought to myself – who better to donate purses than fashion bloggers?! we are constantly receiving sponsored accessories and products, and we are fueled by our passion for fashion… so i organized a winter cocktail making workshop followed by sunday brunch in honor of this fantastic cause. i teamed up with the lovely people at the urban women’s retreat (a part of the urban resource institute), who accepted our donation of 61 purses with open arms! with about 20 bloggers in total, you’re probably guessing how we had so many bags donated by the end of the event – that’s where violet ray handbags come into play. they were generous enough to donate 30 brand new purses to this cause! i was super excited about this, because those specific bags were used as holiday gifts for the teen girls staying at the shelter with their moms. oftentimes teenagers are forgotten about in shelters during the holiday season – not intentionally, but because of how “in between” they are. donations are given to the women in need, and toys are gifted to the young children, but it’s often the in-betweeners that slip through the cracks around christmas. i couldn’t imagine being fourteen years old and not getting a single gift around the holidays.
we had a blast celebrating the holidays and giving back. we promoted across social media and since the event there have been inquiries from people in other states looking to donate! this was a successful attempt at my first charity event, and i hope to make it a yearly holiday gathering! thank you to angel for handing over the reigns as i launched this – thank you to every person who attended and/or donated – and thank you to all of our incredible sponsors! we’ve got some good karma coming our way, and i know we brought more than one smile during the 2017 holiday season. it feels good to do good! follow along on instagram to stay in the loop!
