Dear Friends,
I am so deeply touched and grateful for the support and generosity that was shown for our AAPI and Hollaback! Stop Drop And Dance fundraiser yesterday.
YOU raised $3,595!!!
Your donation will help Hollaback! to continue and provide free trainings for anyone that wants to know how to intervene as a bystander (or victim) of harassment. If you have not taken their free one-hour trainings, please consider doing so! Know when and how to intervene by using their 5-D strategies: Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, & Direct.
We had around 60 people come to dance in-person at "The Garage" (including my sister and nieces who drove up from the South Bay!) and another 25 people join on zoom! It was an emotional and beautiful showing of community and love, and a reminder that DANCING can truly bring hope and healing!
If you missed our 75 minute Stop Drop And Dance class yesterday, remember that all LIVE classes are recorded for TWO DAYS afterwards, so that you can take it on-demand!
*Included with membership or available for purchase a-la-carte*
Thank you for your support!
Words cannot express...
A few minutes before class started yesterday as I was greeting everyone who arrived to The Garage, Katherine C, who has been joining me every class exclusively on Zoom, came in-person. I was shocked to see her for the first time! But then, I saw that her 7th grade daughter, Zoe, also came. And Zoe had a beautifully wrapped present in her hands.
Instantly, I broke into huge sobs because I knew - I knew EXACTLY what that present was.
Zoe, who was in 6th grade during the start of the pandemic, started her own business called The Painterly Paw. She decided to use her passion for art by creating custom pawtraits, either hand painted or digitally designed, for pet-lovers. What a little entrepreneur she is, right?
So when I saw the present in her hands, I knew what she had made for me. I didn't ask her to make it - she created this gift purely because of her kind and generous heart.
When I opened the gift and saw... saw my little Miya, beautifully and brilliantly painted, staring back at me... well, I just dropped to my knees and cried. This was absolutely the most precious gift I could have received.
Thank you so much, Zoe.
If you would love a painting of your cat or dog, please consider giving your business to this talented little lady, Zoe, at www.thepainterlypaw.com
A Happy Mother's Day
The only thing missing from yesterday's special event was that I wish I had told all the moms out there, "Happy Mother's Day!"
Thank you for your sacrifice,
your endless worry,
your compassion,
your patience,
your wisdom,
your grace,
your care,
your love.
And especially to the three mothers pictured below - my mom, Ning, my sister, Ann, and my best friend, Karen...
Thank you for being the absolute best role models in my life. Thank you for showing me what unconditional love and support looks like. What it means to put others first. What it looks like to give without expecting anything in return. I am who I am because of the three of you believing in me since Day 1. Forever grateful.
The most beautiful gift.
All of you, reading this right now, are the most beautiful gift to me.
Thank you so much for being part of my life and this community.
Love,
Grace
