Program News 2010
Project Sunshine Spa Night 2010
“A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever”
GSS' 17th Street group residence recently received a makeover through our building renovation and now its inhabitants have new looks as well thanks to Project Sunshine's annual Spa Night. On Monday, September 20th, the residence's gym was transformed into a spa-with stations for facials, makeup, nails, cookie decorating; journal making, and relaxation. A table filled with all magazines young women love to flip through served as the layover between activities.
Over 50 young women experienced this evening of beauty and bliss. In addition to 17th Street residents, young adults from the Foyer and participants from the Family Foster Care Program attended and luxuriated in the offerings. Products were donated by Estée Lauder, Origins, Bobbi Brown, Darphin and Ojon through Project Sunshine; and all of the spa goers received a gift bag with items from these companies. Like the hippest spas in New York, there were even famous guests: reigning Miss Teen USA Kamie Crawford stopped by to help apply makeup, and Elite model, Damaris Lewis, led the young women in dance. Damaris also facilitated a dance workshop for 17th Street residents in August.
Spa Night dovetailed nicely with our ongoing implementation of the Sanctuary Model, which is a central part of Good Shepherd's residential and foster care programming philosophy. Sanctuary is a comprehensive approach to developing a trauma-sensitive culture in which psychological and social trauma can be addressed and resolved. One of the model's key objectives is to encourage healthy attachments and psycho-education geared toward emotional, social, cognitive and behavioral recovery from trauma. Spending time with the caring Project Sunshine volunteers who recognized and celebrated the young women's outer and inner beauty and taught them how to recognize and celebrate their beauty and strengths themselves, promotes peace and healing and reinforces Sanctuary tenets.
Staff received very favorable feedback from participants. Mentoring Coordinator, Shirley Salomon, who oversaw the event, said that many of the attendees asked her, "When can we do this again?" and a number of residents told her quite firmly, "We need to do this once a month!" demonstrating that the restorative effect Spa Night has on participants lasts long after the lipstick and sparkle have faded.
September 29, 2010
