Sometimes, life gives you a break without you asking for it. The untimely death of my laptop's hard disk was the cause of my blog absence and my forced vacation. 2 whole weeks without any access to my emails, FB or twitter accounts...5 books later, I'm back and so ready for what the new year has to offer. First of, let's get back in the holiday magic so I can tell you all about one life changing night.
As fashion bloggers, most of us are blessed on a daily basis with generous gifts, extravagant events and out of this world encounters, so much so that I sometimes develop a sens of guilt over it. To celebrate the end of another wonderfully lavish year and the first anniversary of the
RBBMM, all 24 members of the group decided it was time to give back. The plan: Spend a memorable evening getting to know the kids of
Le Grand Chemin, a youth center for kids with problems of addiction.
The weeks prior were spend amassing presents for all the 19 kids. Let me tell you that I couldn't have been more pleased with the help, generosity and straight-up caring I was met with when contacting most PR agencies. It's nice to know that your voice, as a blogger, matters when it is really important and that the companies we often collaborate with are willing to jump at the chance to work on meaningful projects.
On the evening of the big event, my stomach was in knots and filled with a thousand butterflies. I was extremely nervous as I didn't know if the kids would really welcome us, if they would like their gifts or if they would even be willing to share some of their life stories with us. I'm so glad to report that my apprehension had no reason of being. That night, I met some of bravest most endearing guys and girls. Their will to get better and work on themselves was inspiring and their appreciation for the help they were given at the center didn't go unnoticed. It was easy to feel the love!
As they say, pictures speak louder than words... Please keep in mind that due to the fact that all of these kids are minors, we weren't able to capture their lovely smiles and excited faces as they were opening the gifts. You'll just have to take my word for it, they were beyond thrilled with what Santa brought them.
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| The smile on Camille's face says it all! |
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| So many gifts, so little time! A big thanks to our lovely sponsors and fellow RBBMMers for giving so generously! |
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| Josiane, Camille, Carolane and myself just before playing santas |
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| The look on the kids' faces upon seeing the gifts was priceless. |
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| Carolane anxiously waiting to surprise the teens |
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| Can't you tell how good giving back feels just by looking at Camille's face. |
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| It was hard trying to take a non-blurry picture... the kids were so excited about opening up their gifts. |
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| Secret tights for every ladies! |
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| Each gift was given randomly |
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| Each of the girls received a very on-trend bag from Aldo. Guessing from their squeals I think it's safe to say they were thrilled! |
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| Until next year... |
It goes without saying this wouldn't have been possible without the help of our lovely sponsors.
Thank yous don't even start to cover the amount of gratitude I feel for your generosity!
My New Year's resolution: try to give back at least once a month during 2012. So far, so good...
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