Last fall, I met with Mikey Monaghan to hear her ideas for a She Inspires spring campaign at Green Spring Station. It almost hurts to think about how casually we took it for granted that we could meet face to face at a café over bagels and coffee. Feels like another life. It was another life.
The Green Spring Station “She Inspires” campaign features the stories of a few of the many women we know who have faced difficult obstacles, family situations and illnesses. They have met their challenges with grace, courage and good humor. Their stories, and the organizations they support, encourage other women to share their experiences, feel more empowered and be moved to help women in need.
Little did we know back then, the “She Inspires” campaign would be very timely, and these women will become an inspiration to all of us during the time of COVID-19. They are role models for dealing with adversity – every woman will have their COVID-19 experience, where they need to draw on reserves of emotional strength and plow through difficult days, make difficult decisions, and cope with a very changed life. We will need a community of women to pull it back together.
The photo shoot took place in the courtyard at Green Spring Station on March 13th, a beautiful, balmy early spring day. We were right at the beginning of learning not to hug, to bump elbows instead, and to prefer being outdoors in smaller groups and to avoid crowds indoors.
“Love was in the air,” and every one dressed up in clothes for all the social occasions they would have on their calendars. All of the women looked wonderful in their clothes from Green Spring Station stores and were having a great time getting to know each other and loosening up for the photography session. They were a typical bunch of “the girls” out for a fun Friday lunch and shopping – festive, happy and relaxed.
And then we interviewed them. Each woman had a story that was difficult to hear. Of families crumbling from a child’s addiction, of keeping the secret of physical and sexual abuse, of dealing with cancer when the prognosis gets worse and worse, of traveling for treatment for a child with a rare disease, of getting away from abusive relationships.
One positive thread that ran through their stories was that they each built a community to give them hope. Each one turned to others who had experienced the same thing they were going through, and when they could, they became part of the community that gives back and supports others. They have become educated and educators. They have become volunteers, and they are fierce as advocates and activists.
Join us to get to know them and be inspired by them.
Location: Green Spring Station
Stylists: Mikey Monaghan and Jen Evans
Photography: Illume Communications
Makeup: Owen O’Donnell
Hair: Uno the Salon
