When women get together, amazing things happen.
This past Sunday, I attended the Black and Gold Brunch hosted by Vancouver Curlfriends, where they were kind enough to ask me to speak about myself, my blog, and my photography project; #ProjectNatural.
Growing up in a city with a severe lack of a “black community”, I am grateful to have met a group of women of colour who are dedicated to creating one. In everyday life, I am an introvert. It is overall hard to convince me to step out of my house–to step away from writing, reading, or a Netflix binge. But when the opportunity to network with other women arises, I’ll do what I can to be there.
This is the second Vancouver Curlfriends meet up I have been able to attend so far, and I wanted to give a huge kudos to the founder, Chynna, and co-founders, Teta, and Christian. It takes a lot of courage to step out of your comfort zone, and to create something where there was once a void, and these women are doing a beautiful job of it. They put a lot of attention and care into their events. You can see it in the details of the decoration, and in the thought behind the icebreaker questions they come up with. They are genuinely looking to connect their guests with one another, and you can see the pride in their eyes when someone networks before them.
They also work to connect with brands, and encourage the people behind them to grow. Women’s Empowerment was a key phrase at Sunday’s event, and discussions were had around what it meant to those of us in attendance. When Chynna defined what “women empowering women” meant to her, she stressed the importance of sharing what it is that we are passionate about with one another, and the importance of showing up to support. Whether it is showing up to play badminton for someone who wants to create a team, or buying from someone’s business, there are so many ways that we can encourage one another.
So are you a Naturalista in the lower mainland of British Columbia? Are you a woman of colour looking to find yourself a community in Vancouver? Make sure you keep tabs on Vancouver Curlfriends, because this is a group of women with initiative, who are on their way to creating big things. (And if you are from elsewhere in the world, keep tabs on them anyways, because they have already spread through North America.)