Today we’d like to introduce you to Aysa Province.
Aysa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Mission Statement: Our mission is to improve confidence and self-worth for families dealing with pediatric cancer and other chronic illnesses through experiences of wellness, beauty and fashion.
Vision:
Our vision is for all young patients battling chronic illnesses and their families to feel valued, cared for, empowered and so Beautifully Loved!
Our Story:
We began as a fashion show that gave our teen cancer patients and blood disorder patients a chance to shine feel beautiful and empowered. In 2020 we had 500 guests in attendance and 2021 we were able to broadcast it on network television. We are so proud of how far we have some with our small event that was meant to celebrate teen patients. We now include all ages and various diagnoses.
After a few years of fashion events and seeing the positivity that stayed with the teens long after their moment on the runway…we decided we could do more, we needed to do more and we were ready. We created Beautifully Loved to serve all ages and family members of children fighting childhood chronic illness.
We do things such as pamper days at the local children’s hospital to provide free services such as haircuts, massages, nails, makeup and hairstyling. We also do free photoshoot sessions, hospital care packages for both patients and parents, clothing support and a design program called Love Tribe Designs, in which patients design shirts and bags in order to share their personal, positive message with others.
We also do self-esteem workshops for young girls dealing with the effects of cancer and what it has done to their mind/body. After seeing the success of this program, we are now doing a mentorship program where we do events that bring together younger patients/older patients and survivors together for a fun time of support and connecting with someone who knows your journey. We have also started giving free therapy to kids weekly to help them cope with the mental trauma of long-term illness and to help improve self-worth. We know that whole body healing means taking care of the heart and the head.
We have seen firsthand how wellness, self-care and remembering their beauty can fall to the wayside for many parents and children in these trying times. Additionally, finances can be so incredibly tight due to hospital bills that all other expenditures lessen in priority. Things that seem simple to most of us become a luxury to these families.
Beautifully Loved aims to lift the burden on families and children by providing self-love and self-care resources that would otherwise go forgotten or become unattainable. We want those who are fighting through hardship to know that they are seen, loved and valued. We want them to know that taking care of one’s self is important and while they don’t have the resources or energy to think of themselves, we will be thinking of them and creating that space for rest and restoration. We want to show up for them and be part of the uplifting love they need during this difficult time.
A list of our current programs:
Free weekly therapy sessions for 12 past and current patients of cancer and siblings
Annual Fashion Show – 2022 will be our 8th annual show
Pamper Kits delivered quarterly – in 2021 we have provided close to 700 pamper kits already
Self Esteem Workshops
Mindfulness Workshops
Mentorship events
Clothing support
Photoshoots
End of treatment photo sessions
Pamper Days when able to set up at hospital – we provide free haircuts, makeup, nails, massages hairstyling, food, drinks, clothing, toiletries for entire hospital.
Mom to Mom programs – support events and programs
Parent Support Events
Free in hospital room services when requested – haircuts, nails, makeup, massages
Love Tribe Designs – merchandise created with artwork of patients
Prayer Circle for those who are in need of support
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
When I started Beautifully Loved in 2015, I really saw myself starting a fun and joyful organization. This is always the goal of any nonprofit that hopes to do good and bring relief/happiness to those they serve. I think what surprised me the most was the fact that while I was attempting to start this joyful mission, it really was me starting a small business. I think I wasn’t prepared for the big picture of starting something from scratch means sacrificing endless hours of trying to keep afloat and keeping it as sustainable as possible. I see the mission but do others? Will they invest in us? Are we doing enough? So many questions start to arise as you spend years trying to prove the worth of your organization in hopes that others will invest back in you. Definitely not as easy as I envisioned in the beginning.
The other challenge I didn’t prepare myself for was the emotional investments I would be making with our families we serve and the hardships that come with their journeys. We serve families dealing with fighting for survival and health. This means that sometimes the story doesn’t end up like hoped. I have been blessed to be part of many stories of children and their families. Some of these families will lose their children to cancer and my heart hurts with them. The fact is that I only feel a tiny bit of their pain but I truly feel heartbreak when these beautiful children move on to be Angles.
With all this being said, I believe in what Beautifully Loved does and brings to the table. We are strongly invested in mental health aspects and empowering those who deserve to remember how strong, brave and beautiful they truly are. All the hard work, sacrifice and determination to stay moving forward is all worth it because we know these precious families need our love and support while they walk one of the most difficult journeys of their lives. They are all so Beautifully Loved!!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I truly love the work I get to do with Beautifully Loved. I think what sets us apart from others is the focus of our mission. When I first started Beautifully Loved, I didn’t know if people would understand our purpose and what we hoped to do. One of the things I saw as a volunteer with Dell Children’s Blood and Cancer Center is how isolated and depleted teens would be until they had a moment to be pampered and made to feel beautiful. I call it their Cinderella moment. I would see this year after year with prom the hospital hosted for them and the fun they had getting ready for their big night. It always amazed me to see the transformation in their spirit when they got hair, makeup and pretty dresses on for the night. I just felt like they needed to feel like this more.
I began a fashion show for four years before I actually formed the nonprofit. Once we saw how much confidence a day of pampering and celebrating their beauty helped…we knew we had something here.
Would people understand our vision? Would people see beyond the lipstick and hair spray moments we provided? Would they understand how a teenager who lost all her hair but got to put on fake eyelashes for the day would impact her self-esteem? So many worries and wonders came with starting this organization. But it was more needed than we all knew. I love how we focus on the head and heart needs. We want everyone who we reach to leave feeling more powerful, more beautiful and not alone. Like I always say, there is a lot of power in a little lipstick!
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Being a nonprofit organization, you are always a little worried about what the future holds as the future often rests in the hands of the community and their support. We are moving into our 5th year of being an organization and we have so many programs. We started with two programs, only serving the blood and cancer center, only serving a single hospital but now we have expanded to more than I could have imagined.
Our hope is to continue to expand to other hospitals and children who need what we can bring to them. We now serve all areas of the hospital and several facilities.
Mental health is a huge topic in the world today and will continue to be important. We believe this is our specialty in helping children dealing with a medical journey. So while we started with mostly makeup and hair, we have formed ourselves an organization that focuses on all therapeutic type programs with the hope of healing the heart and the head in small ways that maybe end up to be big ways.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@beautifullyloved.org
- Website: www.beautifullyloved.org
- Instagram: beautifully.loved
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beautifullylovedFD
- Twitter: BeautifullyLFD
Image Credits
Image Credits: Sophie Kohn Photography RSX Studios Marina Marston Photography
