Vivienne Harr & #standwithme | Brave & Bright Spotlight

bravebrightspotlightAt the Mom 2.0 Summit last week, we were introduced to #standwithme – a documentary about child slavery, and one amazing little girl who set to work to make a difference.  After viewing the trailer, I had already decided I’d be writing about this amazing little film* for our Brave & Bright Spotlight.  Last night I sat down to watch the film in its entirety and I am so excited to share it with you!

There are moments when we meet people in our Vivid & Brave mission who are unsure – of their power to make a difference. Of how to make a difference.  They know they want to dent the universe, but they have no idea how. Their running inner dialogue has told them that they can’t make any real change. That they are just one person. And you’ll often hear me tell people that we are making a difference every. single. day. Everyone we meet, everyone we interact with, is changed by us, even if only in small ways. Your power is you. Imagine channeling that? Imagine doing something with intention – with a plan?

Photo Credit: Make a Stand, Inc.: www.makeastand.com #standwithme

Photo Credit: Make a Stand, Inc.: www.makeastand.com

#standwithme tells the story of Vivienne Harr, and how she used her lemonade stand to fight child slavery. It tells the story of how she set up her stand, every day for 365 days, and how her mission carried her from her neighbourhood all the way to ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange for Twitter’s IPO. How her mission went from $2 cups of lemonade to people emptying their wallets to help her cause to the Make a Stand Lemonaid company,  that now donates a portion of their gross sales to five organizations committed to ending slavery.

Think about that.  Really sit back and consider that. It started with $2 lemonade and a little girl. She didn’t have that inner dialogue yet that told her it was impossible. She wanted to save 500 children from slavery. Her goal was $150,000 dollars, and her method was a lemonade stand.

I wanted to feature this for Brave & Bright because for me, it’s a perfect example of the very type of women we want to meet and tell the stories of in this series. Women who use their power to overcome adversity, or to make things better for others. Women who are effecting change, and denting the heck out of this universe. #standwithme is FULL of those women, even beyond young Vivienne – humanitarian photographer Lisa Kristine, author and activist Stephanie Henry, and Olga Murray of the Nepal Youth Foundation.

And as we get ready to celebrate mothers tomorrow, we must also consider the mothers who have lost their children to slavery – who have been left without choices or options and whose babies are not getting a chance to live as children – who never get to play, to laugh and to enjoy their lives. As well, we must remember the mothers of children who fight hard every day to keep their children out of slavery and in school.

Watch the trailer. Rent the film. Have your tissues ready! Visit the websites of the organizations involved and learn more about how you can help. Share with your friends. And be inspired. It takes an idea, and some perseverance, and the belief in yourself – that you CAN change the world for the better.

 We’re giving away two rentals of this inspiring documentary to our readers! To enter to win, please leave a comment here on the blog. Drawing will take place on Thursday, May 15th!

For more information, visit:

#standwithme 

Make a Stand

Free the Slaves

Nepal Youth Foundation

Not for Sale

International Justice Mission

GEMS 

Stillmotion

* Disclaimer: Attendees of Mom 2.0 were gifted complimentary rentals of this documentary. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Stephanie Ostermann

I’m the sort of girl who you meet for coffee and end up pouring your entire heart out to. The friend you come to when you need someone to call it straight. No bullshit. No extras. Just truth.

I’m a communicator. That’s a PC way of saying I like to talk, but I also spend a lot of my time listening, and over the years, I’ve developed a sense for subtext – how one or two words can change your entire message, what people are really trying to say and how to weave the varied layers of your story into one cohesive brand message that your clients fall in love with.

When I'm not acting as editor in chief for Vivid & Brave, you can find me geeking out over words here.

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