Dignity Not Despair

This nonprofit has not yet verified the listed information.

International

3796 Griffith View Dr Los Angeles, CA, 90039-1715

EIN Number: 82-2433258

Save this nonprofit to your account! Save

contact information

Hours: No Set Business Hours - Call to Inquire

Website: https://www.dignitynotdespair.org

Email: dignitynotdespair@gmail.com

NTEE Code: P20: Human Service Organizations

MISSION - WHAT WE DO

Dignity not Despair is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that donates makeup and hygiene products to female refugees. We understand that even a seemingly small deed can have a major impact on one’s state of mind. By donating these items, we aim to help these women maintain their dignity and a sense of normalcy, and as a result, promote emotional and mental well-being. To date, we have donated over 1,000 makeup and hygiene kits to women in the U.S., Bangladesh, Jordan, Lebanon, Greece, Indonesia, Mexico and Tanzania

SERVICES - HOW WE DO IT

Dignity not Despair was founded by Kristen Gibson and Stacy Lee. In March 2016, we volunteered as humanitarian aid workers in Greece to assist with the Syrian refugee crisis. While handing out donations, two women pulled us aside and shyly asked us if we had any makeup. We were struck by this request, and it continued to resonate with us after we came home. Providing food, shelter and clothing in crisis situations is essential, but we realized that there is a need for goods that help provide something equally important, which is one's dignity. After volunteering at the camps, it became obvious that those living there were trying so hard to maintain a sense of normalcy. We were incredibly inspired by their resilience. Our brief conversation with those women helped us realize that maintaining one's previously held standards of appearance can be a tool to improve emotional and mental well-being. Engaging in a beauty routine can be a positive coping mechanism for women because it provides a distraction, creates bonding experiences between women, engages them in a creative activity, lets them know they are worthy of self-care and allows them to have fun. As we began to do more research, we discovered that we were not alone in this experience. Zainab Salbi, the founder of Women for Women International, has said of her experience providing humanitarian aid to women in Bosnia: ​ "I asked the women, what do you want me to bring you next time I am here? ...And they said, 'Lipstick... because it's the smallest thing we put on everyday and we feel we are beautiful and that's how we are resisting. They want us to feel that we are dead; they want us to feel that we are ugly... I put the lipstick on every time I leave because I want that sniper, before he shoots me, to know he is killing a beautiful woman.' ...That's how she's keeping her beauty; ...that's how women resist and show their resilience in the darkest of circumstances."

Causes

Services Offered

    Populations Served

    • Immigrants & Migrants

    Social Media

    Find Help

    Map