New Year New You - PADV Event

MSF partnered with Partners Against Domestic Violence (PADV) and Latonia Camp to host the first ever New Year New You event. The women of PADV where able to enjoy an evening of pampering that consisted of a new hair style, makeup and nails.

Dennis M. Clay, owner of Takai Atlanta Hair Salon in Decatur, GA, was gracious enough to host the affair at his salon. Volunteers from around the metro Atlanta area showed up to provide services for the event.

Jinette Gilbert, owner of Djea Natural Hair Spa in Conyers, GA was among them. “I felt it was important to give back and help out where I can. Some of the ladies were anxious in the beginning. Once they got used to being in the salon, they were able to enjoy themselves. I even had a chance to give one of them advice on how to maintain and take care of her hair. The women enjoyed it and were very grateful. It was a great success.”

Makeup Artist Mariah Shegog and Nail Technician Crystal Sims also provided services at the event. MSF’s Executive Director Shannon Singleton and MSF Volunteers Tia Gibson and Jerome Vance provided childcare for the mothers while they received their special treat.

PADV Rep Zaneta Daniels along with LaTonia Camp helped organize the event. Latonia’s assistance was vital in finding a place to host the affair.

MSF was able to ask Latonia a few questions during the event.

MSF: How did it come about that you reached out to Takai to have them host the event?

Latonia: These young ladies (pictured above) are my classmates–we are all Alumni graduates of Empire Dunwoody Cosmetology School. Jennifer is employed at Takai. While being serviced by Jennifer in late November/early December, we were discussing doing community services projects. I told her that I was forming a group for licensed beauty industry professionals to provide those services and she made the suggestion that she would ask the salon owner Mr. Dennis if we could use his salon to give mobile makeovers. Within a few weeks of that discussion, we had confirmation from Mr. Dennis to use his salon, and the planning process began between the stylists, Shannon Singleton and her organization (MSF), and Zaneta with PADV. Countless emails, scheduled conference calls, and phone calls culminated in the event’s success on Monday, February 23, 2015.

MSF: How do you feel this event impacted the volunteers?

Latonia: I felt that the event was life changing for the volunteers. Neither of us thought that something so simple as a relaxing shampoo, the stroke of the make-up brush, or the warmth of the water in the manicure bowl could be so impactful. One of the guests stated that it felt like “Christmas in February”. That statement alone made many of us teary eyed and led many of the volunteers to ask when the next event would occur. So we are now in the planning phase of other Mobile Makeovers Matter events. Our first community event planning brunch will be on Sunday, March 29, 2015 from 11:00-2:00 PM. Mary, one of the volunteers for Mobile Makeovers Matter, agreed to host the next event at her salon The Beauti Lounge at 515 Roswell Street, Marietta, GA 30062.

MSF: Is there any aspect of planning the event that you would like people to know?

Latonia: Mobile Makeovers Matter is the heartbeat of Stylists Between Worlds which was created as a volunteer network for Beauty Industry Professionals & Friends to share ideas about new and ongoing community services projects and opportunities. The mission of the group is to bridge the gap between the beauty industry and the homeless…thus creating Stylists Between Worlds.

The planning process was somewhat seamless, in that like-minded individuals with the same philosophies joined together to make the event possible. The question was asked, the mission explained, and the choices were made…pure and simple–no pressure, force, or compulsion.

MSF would like to thank everyone who played a part in making this a spectacular event!

From left: Mariah Shegog, Jinette Gilbert, Crystal “Brownie” Sims

From left: Latonia Camp, Angela Cobb, Jennifer Goodwin

MSF Juniors No Bullying Event

Barrow County Family Connection held a youth conference on June 3rd. Children came from surrounding counties for the event. The conference included a Teen Maze. The maze represented choices and how making the wrong choices could create a “maze of consequences”. Our MSF Juniors participated in the event by holding a No Bullying Campaign within the conference. Colette Onenda volunteered with the Juniors to host the campaign, and she was also asked to be a guest speaker at the event.

MSF was able to interview Colette after the conference.

MSF: Why did you decide to volunteer?
Colette: I want to make an impact on children’s lives. It doesn’t matter if it’s one person or if it’s many. I just want to make sure before I leave any place that a child feels special and that they can do something positive with their lives.

MSF: What do you think that the participants got out of today’s event?
Colette: It’s okay to talk about sexual education and bullying and how it affects graduating from school.

MSF: What will you take away from this experience?

Colette: It can never be too early to start up a conversation with children about sex and bullying. A lot of times we take for gratitude the inspiration our stories can give to a child that may be in the same situation. So we should learn how to put our pride and/or guilt aside to help children.

Sharon Williford, Barrow County Connection Board Member, also weighed in on the event.

“We decided last year that the Summer Youth Conference needed to be reorganized. Our attendance was low, and the kids did not enjoy just being lectured. There was not enough planned that allowed the kids to be hands on or interactive. Denise Peters said that she felt that we needed to do a Teen Maze. I told Denise that if she felt like we could make it happen, then I would support her 100%. During the planning process of the Teen Maze, we had some people tell us that we could not pull it off because it took some of the neighboring counties an entire year to plan it but when someone tells us that we can’t, it just pushed Denise and I even harder to make it happen.

From all the positive feedback that we have received, we can honestly say that it was a huge success. We had the kids do pre and post surveys, and about 95 % of them said that they enjoyed it, they would abstain from having sex, if they chose to have sex they would make sure that they used some type of protection, they would not get in the car with anyone who had been drinking, and that they would not drink and drive. Thanks to the Jrs. Myles Singleton Foundation being there to educate the kids on bullying, we had one girl who will now receive counseling. She had been bullied for some time now. The Jrs. made her feel comfortable enough to disclose that type of information to them. They should be very proud and pat themselves on the back. Three girls were so moved by Colette and McKenzie’s stories, that they actually asked to step out so that they could call their mothers and apologize to them and tell them that they loved them. I have had some people asking us will we do another one this year, but our ultimate goal is to do the Teen Maze at both of the high schools here in Barrow County. The Teen Maze that we just did was scaled back quite a bit. If we do it in the high schools, we will add some other aspects to it.

It will truly require more community support and more funding. We plan on going before the board and presenting them with our idea and if they approve it, we will recruit more committee members and begin the planning process.

Again I want to thank you and all of the other members of The Myles Singleton Foundation for always supporting us! We are so fortunate to have community supporters like you!”

The MSF Juniors were happy they participated in the event and glad they actually helped someone. They are looking forward to contributing at similar events in other parts of Georgia and in Louisiana.

**Donaldsonville, LA Back to School Event**

In July, MSF partnered with Community Outreach Ryders to host a uniform and school supply giveaway. The children received bags filled with school supplies and uniforms at the event. MSF also gave the elementary-aged students lollipops with encouraging phrases while the middle and high school students received care packages filled with personal hygiene products with inspirational sayings attached to the bags.
While this was MSF’s 2nd year supporting Donaldsonville’s schools, the No Bullying campaign was an added feature this year. The children went through an interactive session about bullying, the different participants involved and how they can make a difference. The children received pamphlets: one geared toward victims of bullying and the other for bullies and bystanders. Both pamphlets contained information to help eliminate bullying. Afterwards, the children had the option to sign a certificate that they would not bully and received a prize.

MSF volunteers Dianna and Cher Singleton managed the event. They were both interviewed after the event and this is what they had to say:

MSF: Why did you volunteer to run the No Bullying part of the event?

Dianna: As a fellow member of MSF & a sibling of the Singleton family, I felt as though it was my duty to help out wherever I could. I also sense a lack of education when it comes to bullying in the school system & even though this was one town….every little bit helps. I can remember being bullied as a child & had I known the proper way to handle being bullied & bullies themselves I could have had an easier time at school & in my neighborhood.

Cher: There was a need. MSF Juniors were not available for the event, and I felt that it was an important part and needed to have someone facilitating it. I was a little nervous about it, but I felt that I would be able to set my feelings aside for the sake of reaching out to the kids.

MSF: What kind of impact do you think the No Bullying campaign had on the children and the parents?

Dianna: I think the majority of the children took what was being told to them seriously. Playing the line game brought bullying to the forefront of the children’s brains. It got them to think about not only if they’ve been bullied but if they’ve ever bullied anyone else. The majority of the parents were ecstatic that MSF brought the No Bullying Campaign to their town because their child has either experienced being bullied or were the bully themselves. Even when the child was uninterested in participating, the parent persuaded them to do so anyway. It was a nice sight to see!

Cher: I think the no bullying campaign made the kids and parents admit that bullying occurred in the schools and rather than just count it as a part of the system, we encouraged them to realize that it was a bad thing. I think the kids definitely understood what we were trying to get across to them.

MSF: What was your favorite part of the event?

Dianna: My favorite part of my portion of the event was seeing how honest the majority of the children participating were. It was a relief that they were so cooperative & genuine about the line game & things that they’ve experienced when it came to bullying.

Cher: I would have to say the no bullying, just because that’s where my contribution was and that is what I experienced. I enjoyed some of the parents and kids who were taking the no bullying event seriously.

MSF: What impact did the Donaldsonville event have on you?

Dianna: Even though my family moved from Donaldsonville when I was a young child, I still feel a great connection with the town. Being able to help out where I’m from makes me feel as though I’m doing a great service for my hometown to grow & be better. Dare I say, it makes me feel quite altruistic.

Cher: I saw first-hand what the need was. I really saw that there is a lack of focus on education overall. I felt like we were there to help the kids and make them feel important and that their needs were being met.

MSF: Is there anything that you would like to add for future events?

Dianna: I would like to have more time to prepare an even better presentation for the No Bullying Campaign. I felt we did a decent job despite this.

Cher: I would like there to be a way to make a bigger impact. The supply was there, but we didn’t have enough turn out. We need to make it known and find a way to draw people in. More educational proponents would also be good.

MSF: What did you want the children to take away from the No Bullying event?

Cher: I wanted the children to recognize that they have seen bullying, whether they were the bully or the victim. I wanted them to realize that bullying is not okay, and that they could help make a difference. From what I had been told about the local schools, there wasn’t a question about whether bullying existed… the kids might not have anyone else to tell them it’s not okay.

MSF would like to thank all of the groups and volunteers that helped to make the event a success! You can view more pictures from the event on our Facebook page.

Barrow County Back to School Bash

Barrow County Connections held their annual back to school bash in July. MSF donated 100 book bags for the event. Children received free book bags filled with school supplies.

Markus Wingfield participated in the event again by giving free haircuts to the children. Barrow County Connection also had another hair stylist join Markus for the event. Hats off to Barrow County Connections and all who participated for hosting a successful event!

PADV Thanksgiving Event

MSF hosted it’s 2 PADV Thanksgiving events on November 7th and the 21st. Partners Against Domestic Violence (PADV) is an organization that help support women and children that have been victims of domestic violence. One of the main tools of support is shelter for the victims.

MSF was blessed to again partner with New Mercies Christian Church and Chef Derwin “DJ” Jackson for the November 7th event. The evening opened with New Mercies’ singing group, One Voice One Sound. They sang a number of uplifting songs such as Break Every Chain and No Weapon (Formed Against Me Shall Prosper). Following this was the traditional “What I am Thankful For” turkey craft. Everyone made turkeys out of construction paper and then wrote what they were thankful for on the feathers. MSF gave out 2016 planners, inspirational crossword puzzles and books with supportive themes such as patience, motherhood & joy. The excellent meal prepared by Chef Jackson concluded the event. The menu included herb rotisserie chicken, roasted garlic & kale mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, dinner rolls, cinnamon citrus tea and s’mores ice cream sundae! It was so good many people asked for seconds!