WON'T YOU JOIN US?

What are you doing July 14?

We’d like to make a suggestion for a fun – and meaningful way –
to start off that summer day.

We hope you’ll consider joining the ML Faves for Good team as we again 
participate in the  Women’s Distance Festival at Rockland Lake State Park 
in Congers.

ML Faves for GOOD

The event, which will mark its 31st annual edition this year, will again gather
women of all ages – from girls through seniors – to participate in the run/walk
at the park.

Last year, more than 1,000 registered for the event that celebrates womanhood
and camaraderie while raising funds for the Center for Safety & Change.

With the momentum of Maria Luisa’s own 30th anniversary of doing business
in Nyack, we assembled a team of some 80 women strong, making us the
second-largest team within the 2017 event. 

Whether our team members ran or walked, our effort was a bonding experience –
 filled with quite a few laughs – as the ML Faves raised more than $2,000.

Registration is now open for this year’s event, and we have set an ambitious goal –
to raise $2,500 or more.

Our participation in the festival was key one for us in another way, as well.

The teamwork sparked the creation of the ML Faves for Good initiative where
we formalized our “habit” of joining together to, yes, do good.

This year, ML Faves for Good kicked things off by participating in
Resolution Fun Run/Walk in Nyack. During this January event, our team
raised more than $2,600 to benefit the Nyack Hunger Coalition.

With such teamwork, we cannot fail – so we hope you’ll join us in another
successful effort by participating in the 31st annual Women’s Distance Festival.
 
REGISTER NOW and join the ML Faves for GOOD Movement.
 
And to add a little “incentive,” we’ll help you show off that ML Faves team spirit:

• Returning participants who made a contribution last year and sign up as part 
of the ML Faves for Good team for this year’s event by April 15, may choose 

 

 

MariaLuisaBoutique.com

 

 

 

 

a free ML team T-shirt or water bottle.

• Those new to the ML Faves team who sign up by April 15 and:

    Make a $25 WDF ML Faves for Good donation, will receive a free ML team T-shirt.

    Make a $75 WDF ML Faves for Good donation, will receive a free ML team T-shirt
    and a water bottle.
 

DONATE NOW

We really hope you’ll join us this July 14 – participating again or for the first time. 
It’s going to be a blast.

Please help our fundraising effort by recruiting your female friends and family 
members to also participate.

And please encourage anyone you know to join us “in spirit” by making a contribution 
on behalf of the ML Faves for Good team.

Here’s to another strong effort.

It will be fun – but it will also help raise funds for one of our vital community resources, 
the Center for Safety and Change.

Now that’s doing something Good!

REGISTER NOW and join the ML Faves for GOOD Movement.
 

DONATE NOW

Another Blog post my Maria Luisa

ML/GL – WHAT A YEAR

It was back in summer of 2014 that we held a celebration to unveil our revamped ML by Maria Luisa, a construction project

that turned out to give us exactly the boost we had hoped it would.

Sure, the physical changes to our shop were pleasing. They allowed us to expand our offerings and give you what we hope is a more comfortable, maneuverable environment.

A big part of that unveiling, though, was also a very special debut – our introduction of the Maria Luisa/Global Local initiative.

We think – hope – that many of you are well acquainted with the ML/GL initiative, but in short, it is a way for us to further support and formalize our commitment to the community of which we are a part.

Every time you make a purchase on marialuisaboutique.com, you are invited to designate a local charitable effort to benefit from the sale.

For each sale, we have pledged to donate 10% of the purchase price to the organization you designate.

Currently, we are working with three organizations that have missions we have long supported – The Nyack Center, People to People, VCS Pride – and our namesake educational effort, the ML by Maria Luisa Scholarship Fund.

We have honored that pledge, having made our donations to these organizations and notably were also able to see the fruition of a long-held dream when we presented a young lady from Rockland County with the inaugural ML by Maria Luisa Scholarship at the end of the 2014-15 academic year. It was a proud moment for us – and the start of what we hope will be a long tradition. (Stay tuned to our blog and website for the 2015-16 program details).

We continue to source Fair Trade, eco-minded and artisan-made products that we feature both in our stores and online, where you may easily shop and also quite easily support the ML/GL initiative.

In honor of women

It’s amazing how much changes in the world – and how quickly.
I was thinking of that when recently watching the finale of “Downton Abbey.”
For those of us obsessed with the British production that’s become a mega-hit for PBS here in America, the recently concluded second season was even more tantalizing than the first. And sure, it’s perhaps nothing more than a highbrow soap opera – but it’s also a very entertaining way to explore how society can seemingly change overnight.
During this season, primarily devoted to World War I and its aftereffects, the narrative served as a reminder of how change can sweep through a society no matter the era. It also put a very pointed focus on the role of women during that time. From housemaids who were dreaming of a better life to the Lord’s daughters who suddenly see their days can be about more than pretty dresses and fancy dinner parties, the characters helped convey how things we take for granted were groundbreaking during another time.
This month, March, is designated as Women’s History Month, giving us the chance to again pause and think about women and their role in society – both now and in the past.
Here in Rockland, events such as the Women’s Celebration Brunch at the Nyack Center honor local women who continue to impact their surroundings.
Rockland County has no shortage of these women, from doctors to teachers, politicians to musicians, artists to environmentalists, entrepreneurs to athletes.
Each woman has her own story. Each woman lives her own life. But, as we well known, from family and friends, there are many common threads.
These are the things that make us laugh together, plan together and sometimes, cry together.
The connection is sometimes what helps you get through the day. It’s not about discounting the contributions or importance of men in the world (we wouldn’t want to be without them), but sometimes, all you need is a word with your mother, sister, daughter or best friend to get you through.
Our new series, “Ladies’ Night: The Maria Luisa Way,” is tapping into that very concept.
It was evident during our very first gathering that women whose lives take them to very different places (jobs, schools or at home raising children) all came together in the lower-level gallery of ML Gifts and easily bonded. There was thoughtful discussion, acquaintances made and yes, even though we had a few gentlemen guests in the room, there was a very strong sense of female accomplishment – who met at which awards ceremony, who worked on which committee together, whose business was helping another woman’s to grow, etc.
Here in Rockland, we can readily look to those who’ve made a name for themselves, some even steps away from the Maria Luisa shops themselves. Think of famed actress Helen Hayes, who long made her home on Broadway, to evocative author Carson McCullers, whose onetime home was also on Broadway though in the other direction. These are just two of hundreds, if not more.
Celebrating the accomplishments of women can only help spur more achievements.
Having spent some time on the Women’s History Month website (womenshistorymonth.gov), I learned that today, organizations including The Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Gallery of Art, the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have banded together to continue to offer programs, exhibits and more “paying tribute to the generations of women whose commitment to nature and the planet have proved invaluable to society.”
The site, which welcomes you with a charming photo of Amelia Earhart and tells you its mission is to foster “learning about women’s tenacity, courage and creativity through the centuries,” goes on to give a bit of background about the month.
It seems that before the 1970s, women’s history was not a topic given much attention. A Women’s History Week was introduced in 1978 in California, built around International Women’s Day (March 8). By 1981, Congress had officially recognized the week and in 1987, it was expanded to the monthlong celebration that continues to today.
That’s the summarized version; there’s the proverbial “wealth of information” found throughout the site and its links, so why not spend some time there yourself?
You might even be inspired by this year’s theme for Women’s History Month: “Our History is Our Strength.”
Perhaps you’ll take a moment to reflect on your own history as it relates not only to you but also to your family and those you know.
Maybe even think of a teacher who made an impact on you or a boss you had early on who gave you the chance to prove yourself, each imparting lessons that remained with you for decades.
Remember those feelings – and pass them on to another young woman this month to keep the history alive.
– Mary Shustack

Newsletter Editor
Maria Luisa Boutique / ML Gifts & Accessories