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Paying it forward is good for your soul.
Having first hand experience of being on the receiving end of enormous support, generosity, donations and compassion after the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfire in my home town, I know what it means to receive when you never expected you would need to. I also intimately know how difficult it can be to receive when you are the one usually giving.
It quickly became clear life would never be as we knew it before the fires so we had to look forward and somehow create a new normal and realise our dreams.
Firefoxes Australia, Women Rising Together from Black Saturday, began as a grass roots organic way to fill the gaps and catch the women (and their families) who were falling through the cracks. Innately we knew by putting our energy into supporting the women, it would have a ripple effect and help their families and by proxy help the wider community to also create a new normal.
With over 7 years as the co-driver of Firefoxes, the network of women, the friendships that were formed, the buzzing energy of love and support at every monthly event, retreat and workshop, will always make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. The donations and grant money Firefoxes received was so incredibly helpful to keep the women connected and a place to feel safe and validated. www.firefoxes.org.au
Why Paying It Forward?
Living and volunteering within my bushfire affected community and learning to recover from disaster and trauma, I have learnt alot. Alot about myself, the aussie spirit, the community needing a voice and the government needing to listen and be inclusive. A mind blowing discovery was that the real time lines of recovery are measured in decades, not months and years. As a result, I have spent many years and continue to share the lessons of disaster response, relief and recovery alongside the hugely successful and award winning Firefoxes Australia story, to other disaster impacted communities.
Sharing the stories helps other impacted communities create their version of a new normal and learn from our collective mistakes and emulate the wins. There are many Firefoxes like group that have emerged post disaster right across Australia... hello to The Storm Birds, The Water Rats and those emerging out of recent 2022 floods and fires.
Paying It Forward and helping to highlight important Australian issues women face (natural disaster or not), is enormously important to me. For every purchase we are lucky enough to receive here at Soap, Skin and Candles, $1 will be paid forward Guaranteed.
It will be shared amongst
- Resilient Lismore -
A volunteer powered community recovery effort supporting Lismore residents rebuild their lives by connecting locals with volunteer help, information and services.
It is a Registered Charity with the ACNC. www.floodhelpnr.com.au
- Women's Community Shelter - They work with communities to establish new shelters, which provide short term emergency accommodation and support in a safe environment that enables homeless women to rebuild self-esteem and achieve control and fulfilment of their lives. It is a Registered Charity with the ACNC. www.womenscommunityshelters.org.au
Women doing wonderful things ...
We see you and we want others to see and hear what you too.
The SS&C team and I are amazed and in complete awe of ordinary women doing extraordinary things everywhere. We call them Wunder Women and love learning who is the woman under the label of mother, wife, full time/part/stay at home/worker, volunteer, etc
Of course many don't think what they do is anything special but we do. While there are women who are helping change and impact our world on a large or public scale there are also so many women quietly effecting change in their own way, everyday.
We want to hear about them and send them a little #withloveandthanks giftbox on us.
Keep scrolling to nominate the Wunder Women in your life.
Do you know a Wunder Woman?
Every month we will ask you to nominate a Wunder Woman, an ordinary woman doing extraordinary things...... whatever that looks like in your eyes.
It's easy peasy for you to nominate and we will randomly draw a winner and they will receive a complimentary SS&C Wunder Woman Box to acknowledge their fabulousness!