“When I arrived on LOV Day, little did I know that there was a sisterhood waiting for me on the other side. Being a recipient of LOV Day made me feel warm, loved and appreciated.”
-Mikayah, LOV Sister age, 17
LOV Day is one of our most treasured events of the year because we get to live out our mission of instilling purpose, passion, and perseverance in young Black girls.
Thanks to our partners Northwestern Medicine, Mielle Organics, University of Chicago, Goldin Institute, Renee Ramore Hair Care, and Ferrara we were able to pack 350 LOV boxes and host a pamper party featuring hairstyling by Rachel Carter and Cher Muhammad.
Our annual pamper party served 56 girls! They enjoyed manicures, hairstyling, games, painting, affirmation posters, live music and all around LOV vibes. Self-care is truly the best love. It was our privilege to give them a day to enjoy being pampered. They had a blast!
A big part of that initiative is creating programming that centers around self-esteem because as our founder, Jamila always says, "self-love is the best love." The root of healthy self-esteem is a solid foundation of love. We created LOV day with the heart to show our LOV sisters that they are seen, heard and loved.
“When we come to LOV we aren’t expected to be anyone but ourselves. All we have to do is show up. They want to help us embrace that.”
-Nadira, LOV Sister, age 16
Our Founder, Jamila Trimuel, shared one of her favorite memories.
“I have so many great memories from this years LOV Day but I would say the one that stands out to me came from our Senior Program Administrator, Cassandra Cross. Cassandra mentioned that as she was preparing for LOV DAY, she saw a little girl and her grandmother outside trying to make a snowman but there wasn't quite enough snow. To make her feel better, she walked up to this family and said that she had a LOV Box for her if she would like.
Both her grandma and the little girl yelled in excitement, "that's the LOV Box from the news!" They wanted a LOV Box but weren't able to pick it up on LOV DAY. Cassandra gave her the LOV Box and the little girl ran into the house smiling and was as happy as she could be.
Those loving moments are exactly why I do what we do. It's a perfect example of letting that girl know...we see you, we hear you and we love you.” - Jamila Trimuel, Ladies of Virtue Founder
Studies show that young Black women are viewed as needing less support, nurturing, and comfort than their peers. To combat this, in addition to our mentoring and leadership programming, we provide a series of community events dedicated specifically to love on our girls. We want Black girls to know that they are seen, heard and loved!
Ladies of Virtue offers a variety of programming and events all year long. To learn more about what we are up to, subscribe to our newsletter. Want to get involved? Volunteer or make a donation.
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