Tags: colouring books for healing and relaxation

I have been working in domestic violence shelters for many years and The Big Girls on the Move campaign is inspired by the many stories of courage, generosity, resilience and grace that I have encountered across a wide range of women’s services.

The funding of the first box of colouring books that will be delivered to the new domestic violence education centre reflects something that I have witnessed many times over the years I have worked in shelters and it can be summed up in two words.

Compassion and Generosity.

Here is an example:
We were getting ready to start our Art of Change group at one of the regional dv shelters. Coffee cups filled, table ready with the art supplies and The Big Girls Little Coloring Book when a staff member came in with two large boxes.

“These have been donated. Take what you would like.”

Before our eyes a knitted rainbow appeared, scarves, gloves, knitted hats and teddy bears, lovingly stitched together by a group of women who care. The teddies are called trauma Teddy’s and are given as a comfort bear for children in shelters who are coping with losing their home and the trauma of domestic violence.

The knitting volunteers care about the women, often viewing them as sisters and daughters and mothers and they care about their children.

I have seen this happen many times over the years.

Knitted blankets, baby clothes, donations of books, personal care products (thank you to the generosity of The Body Shop over many years) clothes and kitchen goods all make their way through the shelter doors.

There are the mobile crèche volunteers who contribute their time to women’s shelters so we can have child care during the domestic violence education groups and at Christmas time hampers, food vouchers and invitations to community Christmas parties arrive from agencies and churches.

Sometimes there will be tickets to the circus donated to a shelter, cinema passes and free gym membership because people who are in the community really want to make a difference and offering their resources is a way of saying:

My heart feels for you, I want to contribute to your recovery and quality of life if I can.

At a women’s housing organisation their Christmas party event included a huge donation of electrical goods and household products from a company that put “action” to their vision of corporate contribution .

When I am invited to speak at forums that are often concerned with statistics and data, policies and funding issues, I emphasise that in amongst those things that define the every day business of a domestic violence shelter, there is also a profound demonstration that the myth of our society as being uncaring and indifferent is simply not true!
I like to share stories about domestic violence shelters as a Women’s Village because the term evokes the sense of community and connection that is core to the way shelters operate.

I have also met many men who contribute to the gardening, house maintenance, who offer their time as Father Christmas and others who support their wives and partners who work in domestic violence shelters.

I was involved in a Facebook conversation lately with a group of women who said they wanted to do something to assist women in shelters, they didn’t have much money, they march during White Ribbon week and write letters but they’d like to do something practical. I told them that one of the most inexpensive but much needed resources in women’s shelters are nappies and personal care products especially sanitary products .

Their response was immediate and generous and they made a contribution after holding a morning tea.

These things make a huge difference in shelter settings as does a packet of colouring pencils and mandalas for colouring for women who are under enormous pressure and experiencing not only stress but a sense of confinement behind the locked gates of a safe house.

You may not know this about domestic violence shelters where, paradoxically women who have often been treated very poorly and are at great risk are recognised by others as deserving of love and care and nurturing and it is a very humbling thing to witness.

I just wanted to share this today because the image of that beautiful knitted rainbow that spilt across the table and the smiles and joy of women who are sorting through so much chaos in the early days of leaving a violent relationship, was too sacred not to share.

If you would like to learn more about The Big Girls on the Move crowd funding campaign, to place 20 boxes of colouring books into 20 women’s shelters, please click this link.

We would love for you to share it with your friends!

www.gofundme.com/big-girls-on-the-move

Tags: colouring books for healing and relaxation

Have you ever wondered why colouring books for women are so popular right across the world and how they are making a difference in domestic violence shelters?

Have you noticed how many articles and news segments, Facebook posts and blogs have appeared in the last couple of year about the phenomenal rise in colouring books for adults? They are even in supermarkets alongside of the magazines and newspapers!

I am thrilled that the best kept secret in women's personal development is now reaching audiences far and wide!

I call it a medARTation because the hands and creative imagination are involved in the relaxing, meditative process.

I have been creating mandala colouring pages for women for over 20 years and have seen the tremendously positive impact of colouring first hand!

In domestic violence shelters and prisons I meet many women who have told me that colouring a mandala is one of the best ways to relax because they experience a sense of being “in the moment” during the colouring process.

This inner connection often opens up old doorways to talents and interests that have long been forgotten.

Tags: colouring, colouring books for healing and relaxation, healing, relaxation