Blog, Founder's Story

2019: A year of Growth for SLB

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall

They say to reflect on your whole year…the good, the bad, the ugly, the pretty…so here it goes….

2019 was a FULL year of growth of SLB and well for me too.

It was our first full year as a nonprofit and man oh man, did I have a lot to learn. I had lots of tears of happiness and a lot of fear, being scared and rejection. When I reflect on what we did, like really reflect, I am blown away.

I am blown away by:

  • My team: Their skills, work ethnic, kind hearts and honestly their ability to work with change is incredible. I know I am a challenging leader and so it has been awesome to see people grow into leaders themselves, gain new skills but also teach me new things to further the SLB mission.
  • My family and friends: Their support hands down has been so needed for me. Lots of tears, lots of changes and lots of hands needed to help me stamp and address cards, count inventory, wake up early to set up and just be an ear to listen when I need it.
  • My community: I live in Michigan and the Great Lakes Bay Region and I couldn’t be more proud. While I am still finding my way and all the ways that SLB fits, the help from my community has been outstanding and I am grateful for it.

What they accomplished was a lot and had a lot of firsts:

  • First Affirmation Day: Positive affirmations are so important so we created a day just for them. In our first year we had 15 schools and 20 businesses participate and overall 12,000 people! Starting off the day, 53% of participants had knowledge of the effects of affirmation but 92% grew in knowledge of their importance after. One teacher shared: “Our students loved this activity. So often students lack self esteem and do not have feelings of self worth. This activity provided a way to remind them to be kind to themselves – through using items made by fellow students and staff. We always try to help our students realize their worth and capabilities, but when we can get them to have these feelings internally, it is so much more powerful and impactful.” Join us for our second annual Affirmation Day in May 2020, details coming soon. If you would like the FREE toolkit email our team at [email protected]                
  • First Women’s Event: In the first year, women from all different socioeconomic statuses, backgrounds and stories came together to attend this event. More than 53% of attendees increased their knowledge about how to live a life of purpose and positive future and 65% of attendees left knowing they are supported and not alone in their struggles. One attendee shared “The best aspect to Your Story Matters was talking to other women and knowing I have them as a support system.” Another shared, “My biggest takeaway from today is that there are many women who are working through similar things. We can lean on one another to keep each other strong.”
  • First Teen Conference: At our first conference, 80% of teens walked away with more knowledge and tools on self-love, confidence and developmental assets. That is more than 50 girls that have tools and resources to be more resilient, confident, and become the next leader in their community. One teen shared, “I learned today to love myself for who I am and not follow what society says is the perfect image of everybody. I also learned how to control myself when someone calls me names and is rude. I feel like everyone should feel very empowered leaving this conference.”
  • First Family Programs: We listened to our audience and we create outstanding family programs. These programs allowed families to come together to support one another. See some details below.
  • Mother/Daughter event: More than 70% of mothers who attended this event increased their understanding of how much they need to support their daughters and 40% increased their knowledge on how to connect with their daughters throughout their teen years. Not only that but through the workshops, panels and sessions, daughters increased their knowledge on how to live out a positive future and have a positive support system. A 2019 attendee shared, “This event really helped me to get to know my mom on a deeper level. The quality time we spent together was exactly what we needed.”
  • Father/Daughter event: At the program in 2019, 90% of fathers said they strongly agree that the material presented helped them grow a stronger bond with their daughter. 80% of daughters said they increased their knowledge about self-love and confidence and felt more supported by their father and community. One daughter shared, “Having a relationship with my dad is important so we can grow up and have a bond and friendship between us.” Click here to read a blog written by a father that attended the workshop in 2019.
  • Mother/Son event: After the 2019 event, 83% of mothers said they learned something new about their sons and 90% of sons said they have a better understanding of self-love and confidence. One boy shared, “My favorite part about tonight was sawing, hammering and being with my mom.” One mother shared “This event was great. I enjoyed the time together with activities for the boys and the focus on mother/son relationships.”

And we are not slowing down in 2020…actually we are just picking up with some amazing things coming your way right in the first quarter of 2020:

What I learned:

  • I am a creative
  • What I do and don’t like doing
  • How to become a better leader
  • How to simplify what I am thinking (sorry teams!)
  • To continue to think bigger even when you want to
  • Always get back up no matter what
  • Always put your mental and physical health first
  • Rejection hurts but if you don’t push to the next level you will never be able to further your mission
  • There are good people out there and I am surrounded by the best team

2019 was hard but it was amazing….I am excited to see what 2020 brings Self Love Beauty and I.

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