Let me share a bit about Samantha with you. Samantha had a vision. This beautiful and talented teenager wanted to make young girls in her community know that they matter and are beautiful just the way they are. What better way to accomplish this than to help them see themselves as the "Princesses" they truly are.
Therefore the birth of Princess Blitz.
Samantha describes the first event like this:
The event was done at one of our elementary schools in town. This school was picked because of the income levels of the students who attend. I want all little girls to know what it feels like to be treasured and important.
Samantha had no trouble getting about 15 of hers and her mom's friends to volunteer for this event and of course she could not have pulled this off without a lot of support from the guidance counselor at the school.
About a week or two before the event, at an introductory meeting, handmade invitations were personally delivered to all second grade girls at the school.
The day of the Princess Blitz, she had all the volunteers wear dresses so that they would be girly too. She wanted to make the whole event have a little more “prettiness” if you will, than the average day. Samantha explains her goal as being, "to make a little fairy tale afternoon for some girls who may not get to have that very much."
On the day of the event, right after the school day ended, the excited little girls met with Samantha and her volunteers.
The first thing on the agenda was the reading of a story Samantha had written entitled, "The Tale of Two Princesses." After reading this delightful story I can only imagine the eager little faces of those precious children as they listened. Samantha explained to me the purpose of the story was "to help focus the girls into “Princess Mode” instead of “School Mode.” Samantha said the story set the stage for the rest of the afternoon.
The three main points of the story were emphasized by the use of gemstones. This was a theme carried throughout the various stations.
The Purple Jewel: A princess makes mistakes, but she always gets right back up and tries again.
The Mirror (Diamond) Jewel: A princess knows that her beauty is on the inside as well as the outside.
The Green Jewel: A princess helps others.
One station was the crown station. Crown stencils and craft materials were in abundance so they could decorate as much as they wanted to. After all, every princess needs her own personalized crown!
While some girls made crowns others were able to visit the dress station, where they got to pick from a large selection of "dress-up" clothes the one they would wear for the rest of the afternoon. Others colored pictures of princesses.
Another station was the Hair/Makeup. Oh what fun this was. Here Samantha's mom, Leslie (a phenomenal hairstylist and great lady) and Brenda White (one of the nicest and most energetic people I know) add the finishing touches to these little princesses.
What does every little girl do when feels beautiful? She laughs and twirls and dances!
Samantha adds this comment:
"Throughout the evening, we built the girls up by calling them beautiful, telling them how pretty they looked, making them feel like they own the world. At the end was my personal favorite part; watching the girls get their pictures taken. Since my dad is a professional photographer, he came in with all of his lighting equipment and camera gear to capture the girls in the dress of their choice with their hand made crowns. It was priceless to see their faces."
When I heard about Samantha's vision and wonderful program, I was so impressed and knew if anything demonstrated "Beauty Without & Within" it was her story and her goal for each little girl - not to be a Queen for a day, but a Princess for a lifetime.
Thank you Samantha for this ministry and for making these little girls know how beautiful and special they really are.
I will post pictures of the little girls in my next posting.
ReplyDeleteFollowing is an email received from Samantha:
ReplyDeleteMrs. Day,
Thank you so much for your kind words. Looking at all of those pictures reminded me of what a fun, fulfilling day it was. I can't express my gratitude for your interest in my program and the way you flawlessly presented it. It means so much to me that you thought to put this on your blog. My goal for that day was to touch a few girls lives. With your help, the event can touch a few more people with God's love. Thank you.
Most Sincerely,
Samantha Petersen
What a sweet story!
ReplyDelete