Once you have had the experience of being part of a social movement you will always be able to recognize when one is afoot. Having myself, been privy to the early 90’s music, environment/activism and 3rd wave feminist movements -- all my alarms were going off during this year’s Women’s Conference.
For the ladies behind nonprofitshoppingmall.com it all began when we transformed from the virtual to the physical world. We put down our laptops, packed up our booth and set up shop inside the Long Beach Convention Center. We were blessed to have the BEST booth-mates EVER joining us, our dear friends, Mattie and Eve, authors of Forty Schmorty. Meanwhile, not far down the road, were my fellow board members of Ndebele Art Project Africa in a double wide booth filled with hand-carved wood giraffes from the village.
In fact, everywhere we turned there was someone we knew or had worked with before (one of the first give-a-ways that you are involved in a social movement is that suddenly everyone you know is on the same wavelength and involved in similar activities). Lending a real sense of community to the event. Our pals from Best Buddies were there, Shelley’s Fashions, World Vax, Beijo Bags, A Treasured Accessory, Bed Heads PJ’s, Road Less Traveled Store, Jacqueline B., Harvey’s—and this is just our fellow vendor list. On top of that we had all kinds of friends and family stopping by to say hello throughout the two-day conference.
It’s no surprise that this event has become so popular, in fact, under the leadership of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver, The Women's Conference has grown from a small government initiative for working professionals into a far-reaching organization, a life-changing experience, and an international network of women from all walks of life, backgrounds and perspectives.
Attendants of The Women’s Conference are well aware that they are part of the largest and most dynamic gathering of women in the nation. This conference is recognized for its unparalleled capacity to empower and inspire women to become architects of change. The annual conference unites more than sixty internationally-acclaimed leaders and visionaries with 14,000 women in one arena, plus thousands more virtually, to share enriching stories of transformation and success, words of encouragement and life lessons.
Tickets were sold out in the first 3 hours they went on sale. And the minuet the doors opened for the Night at The Village, our booth was swamped. A variety of women who shop for their families, their friends and for themselves were touched by the simplicity of our “shop”anthropy model through www.nonprofitshoppingmall.com. Hearing that they could make a difference in the world just by doing what they are already doing and shopping where they are already shopping was a welcome bit of new information amidst the fun and exiting sensory overload which was the exhibition hall.
On Wednesday October 22nd at 7 A.M. the real show began…tens of thousands of women began pouring into the convention center. We spoke to so many women, as they moved in and out of The Village between conference rooms, our voices went hoarse. The energy was electrifying and over the dull roar we could hear motivational speakers and world-renowned leaders conversing over some of the largest challenges of our time.
Some of the speakers included Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Madeleine K. Albright, Gloria Steinem, Condoleeza Rice, Lance Armstrong, Jennifer Lopez, Warren Buffet, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael J. Fox, Sally Field, Billie Jean King and most notably Maria Shriver and Bono.
Many powerful words were spoken by celebrities, businesswomen and politicians who declared their fears, themselves and their intentions to the world. Moments so real, so cherished… you could hear a pin drop on the stage floor and others so loud you found yourself swelling with celebration. (This is what a social movement sounds like.)
Maria Shriver, from a family that’s practically U.S. royalty, gave a speech so personal, honest and heartfelt you left feeling like you were old friends. Like you had just been sipping tea with her, discussing the journey that is life. Some of her most poignant inspirations were about, facing your fears.
She explained how to recognize fear, that it’s usually hanging out with the inner critic who’s constantly reminding you “you’re not good enough” or “you’re not worth it”. She invited all of us to step into action any time we felt this discomfort. She stressed that being with the fear is everyone’s access to her or his own transformation. That through this breaking open you will see the light of who you are.
When the women walked out of the conference and into the exhibition hall, they were definitely shining. Their inner lights, as well as their great taste in fashion were making quite the statement… I heard several of the union men saying, “this is the most beautiful group of women” while all of us girls kept gasping, “Oh my god, I love her boots”.
To meet so many women at once who are passionately committed to having wonderful lives, working on amazing projects and looking fabulous while doing it is a rare treat. Here’s just a small shout out to a few of the vendors that really caught our eyes: momlogic.com, CARE.org, WE Invest, ONE Campaign, myinspirationlounge.com, Booksbywomenforwomen.com, Deborah Lindquist, E-Fuel Corporation and The Fruit Guys.
This culmination of so many people’s hard work organized under one roof certainly brings evidence of Margaret Mead’s famous quote. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
To honor women who have been extraordinary in their thoughtful and committed contribution as citizens the Women’s Conference presents 5 women with the Minerva Award (named after the Roman goddess of wisdom and justice). This year’s winners were: Louise Hay, Betty Chinn, Gloria Steinem, Ivelise Markovits and Billie Jean King. These women are truly amazing examples of what is possible when women take action in the face of their greatest fears.
After all of us had indulged in our 3rd cup of fairtrade, organic coffee the afternoon entered its finale stretch. Who better to close the ceremonies then every-women-over-30’s, beloved Bono.
The buzz of his arrival reached all the way to the exhibition floor and the excitement was well deserved. This man has seen his share of movements. Trends have come, they’ve gone, U2 has been both relevant and iconic…and yet Bono’s stand for the biggies: equal rights, the end to world poverty, freedom, and unity remains unwavering.
Like Shriver he also stressed the issue of fear, toward the end of his speech he declares, “these are momentous times in America. Historically its times like these, times of challenge, strain, disruption, when America often discovers it’s true greatness…right when everyone’s filled with fear.” Reiterating the theme of the conference, that it’s the being with this fear that will motivate us to rediscover who we are, what we believe and what’s truly worth taking a stand for in the world.
Bono finished by addressing Americans directly, “we are not asking you to put another man or women on the moon, we are asking you to put humanity back on this earth.
For the girls at booth 1048 this meant wrap up time. We broke down our booth and Eve and Mattie, who had pledged to give a percent of their Forty Schmorty book sales to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, walked over their $300 donation. We were all exhausted but in such a satisfying way. The beautiful hall morphed back into its previous form of empty warehouse and in the vacancy you really could get a feel for how much human energy went into this extraordinary event.
Though many of us have felt defeat when speaking our minds or when taking the unpopular stand for what we believe in. And sure, there have been times when we felt completely alone. At The Women’s Conference 2008 our persistence, integrity and hard work paid off with the priceless sense of acknowledgement and community, the realization that we were finally among kin.
All our small contributions didn’t look so small when you put them all together and our fears didn’t seem so large with this amount of support. This power in numbers, this critical mass, this is what a movement looks like. Here at nonprofitshoppingmall.com we were re-inspired by of the power of WE and know that when our numbers add up our collective everyday shopping--turned everyday giving… will be a force to reckon with!
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