From Fashion to Philanthropy

Several years ago I was having coffee with my dear friend Jason from Run4Papa and he asked the question “if money wasn’t an option what job would you do?” Without a pause in my response I said “I’d travel and volunteer”. This has always been deep within my soul. Of course being a parent means you can’t necessarily drop everything in front of you and hop on a plane.

When I created Pretty in the Queen City five and a half years ago my focus was beauty and fashion. And that’s how I built my name. But, over time, I’ve felt out of place and that I wasn’t truly going after what I wanted. I finally came to the conclusion I wasn’t writing about where my heart is. Going from fashion to philanthropy isn’t the easiest transition. People have known me for attending fashion shows and writing about the latest beauty products on the market. And while I do like attending these events and writing about products-I want the focus to be different. I want to feature brands that have a program in place to give back. I want to visit locations that are rarely heard of and jump deep into their community.

The first place I was able to truly share this new focus was Type-A Parent Conference. Not only was it my first conference but it was during my collection efforts for Activation ReACT . I took every opportunity to share with those I met this new focus of mine-Lifestyle. Travel. Philanthropy. I knew that it would be there I’d learn whether I made the right decision. After all, most there knew me as a beauty blogger. To my delight, everyone was so supportive. My ideas of social good and travel were not as far fetched as I thought they may be. I did receive the question “but don’t you make more money writing about beauty and fashion than you will travel and philanthropy?” You know…probably so. Although, I’d rather take a pay cut and follow my heart.

While at Type-A, I got a dose of just how supportive those in my online community are. They set up a donation bin for the items I was collecting in partnership with Activation ReACT for flood relief in SC. When I came out of a session, I found this.

A couple of hours later….I found this….

And there was only more to come. I spent 3 hours sorting thru donations and loading up my SUV. When home I was able to lay it all out and WOW-what giving hearts.

Special thanks to Kelby Carr and team from Type-A Parent for their donations of baby food and children’s books. Huge thank you to  CVS, Little Remedies, and Share a Sale for their donations of snacks, medication and stuffed toys.  And thank you to Type-A attendees for being so generous with your donations and for welcoming me and accepting me into this world of digital media.

In two weeks I leave for London to attend the World Travel Market. This will be my opportunity to sell my social good ideas to tourism boards from all over the world.

While it’s been a journey to make such a huge transition from one world to another…I am confident in this new direction. I am right where I need to be.