Woman Uses Lipstick to Help Empower Victims of Domestic Violence
When she saw how happy the make-up made the women, she knew she had to offer the donations on a much larger scale.
For victims of domestic violence, it's often a long road to recovery. Sometimes, it can take months, even years, for women to regain confidence after they've been abused by a partner. There's a lot of pain, both physical and emotional, and often women are left to deal with the rollercoaster of emotions on their own after they've left an abusive relationship.
That's where Sheryl Kurland comes in.
Kurland began volunteering at a local women's domestic violence shelter in Longwood, FL where she would meet with women every other week and offer relationship workshops. During the workshops, she got to know the women, and she was struck by how raw and broken they were. She recalls how one woman told her, "I can't look in a mirror because I'm no longer who I am."
While Kurland knew she was helping the women by listening to their stories, she wanted to do more. She remembered one of her mother's old sayings when she was upset about something: "Just put on a little lipstick and you'll feel better."

Taking her mother's words to heart, Kurland showed up to her next meeting at the shelter with a box full of new lipsticks. At the end of the workshop, she gave them to the women and told them to choose the one they wanted. The entire mood in the room shifted and the women smiled and laughed as they helped each other pick out their perfect shade.
After that, Kurland wanted to keep the project going so she started Find Your Fabulosity , a non-profit dedicated to helping women rediscover their voice, identity and real beauty, inside and out. Kurland and her crew of 50+ volunteers collect new and never-used lipsticks and send them to women's domestic violence shelters all over the country. So far, FYF has collected and donated over 45,000 lipsticks.
Kurland says the results of the project have been overwhelmingly positive and she's constantly inspired by the stories she hears.
"After getting her new lipstick at the end of a workshop," Kurland told Majically , "one woman, a victim of domestic violence, confided in me, 'Sheryl, I was just starting to feel good enough about myself to want to wear some makeup again. The first thing I wanted to purchase is lipstick, but I have no money. Thank you so much.'"
While it may not be the biggest contribution to fighting domestic abuse, Kurland proves that even the smallest acts of kindness can go a long way in helping victims heal.
There are two ways to support Find Your Fabulosity:
You can donate lipsticks or provide a financial donation using a major credit card. Click here for more details.
(Source: images & video Find Your Fabulosity Facebook )