Differences Magazine

This past Saturday, April 28,2012, Glamour Gals held their annual Glammy Scholarship Awards. Glamour Gals is a foundation created over 12 years ago by Rachel Doyle Boyens. Rachel was inspired, by her own personal experience with her grandmother, to establish a bond with an older generation that might feel forgotten. Those that participate with Glamour Gals, whether they won the scholarship or not, embody this mission.

The Glammy Scholarship Awards and Glamour Gals in general are the living definition of camaraderie. Those that are a part of the foundation have a deep understanding that living means living to make people smile. The connections that are forged between the members of chapters and the women in senior homes are selfless and full of understanding. The bonds go beyond just the make-up and the nail polish, they transcend the obvious generational gap, and they mesh into a truly indispensible friendship and lifeline.

Those that wanted to be considered for a Glammy Scholarship had to write about a special moment they experienced during their time with Glamour Gals. Many of the finalists had their pictures on the wall at the Glammy Scholarship Awards with short quotes of why Glamour Gals was so special to them. Katherine Zimmy's picture read "GlamourGals proved to me that something as simple as holding hands, smiling, and being listened to can truly help someone." Those that won the scholarship award got a chance to speak at the Awards ceremony. Carly Roman, a chapter president and award winner, spoke about how important each makeover is because it might be one of the few times the women are spoken to by someone who truly cares.

Lou Valerio, GlamourGals Executive Board Member, gave a short, but powerful, speech before presenting the Daniel and Lucille Valerio Outstanding Volunteer Award to Stephanie Azzopardi. He explains that he has a personal experience with senior homes because of his parents and cannot measure how pivotal the Glamour Gal visits are to those women. The visits, talks, and makeovers transcend all of the difficult transitions or life experiences all of those women have to live through. Each visit makes their life a little fuller because they know there is someone who is willing to listen and cares.

Rachel Doyle phrased it perfectly in her speech at the ceremony when she said all of her accolades were great, but what was truly important were the special moments that both the volunteer and the women got a chance to share.

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