“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller
February 14, 2014 was our first Valentine’s Day in the Dream Home, Beautiful Dream Society’s Oklahoma City shelter for women who were victims sex trafficking. We celebrated by honoring love in many forms: loving friends, loving strangers, and loving ourselves.
The day started with an adventure in Random Acts of Kindness. One of the young ladies in the Dream Home had created small, simple cards with encouraging messages such as “You are loved!” On Valentine’s morning, one of our BDS house moms took her to a shopping area and the two of them stuck the cards on windshields in the parking lot in hopes that the surprise message would lift people’s spirits. “The young lady loved it because it’s something she would have never done. I’d never done anything like it either! We wanted to do something to ‘pay it forward.’ Hopefully it made that stranger smile that day,” said our house mom.
That afternoon, the house moms took the ladies to a nail salon, a gift that had been donated by a friend of BDS. Simple luxuries like this have consistently helped women in our Dream Home feel good about themselves. When a person has been lied to about her lack of worth, simple steps in building self-esteem are crucial to recovering a greater sense of personal value. We’re so grateful for generous partners who help us communicate this truth to the lovely ladies in our program!
Valentine’s Day culminated with a candlelit dinner. A house mom and her husband opened up their home for the party and cooked an elaborate, five-course meal. The ladies got dressed up for it and enjoyed the meal in a glowing, elegant ambience created by BDS staff and volunteers.
All of the ladies received Valentine’s Day gifts, as well. Several had participated in a photo shoot conducted by a house mom earlier in the year. They received lovely prin
ts from that day, reflecting back to them their individual beauty. Along with flowers for everyone, each girl received a basket donated by a volunteer filled with goodies like nail polish, bath products, and candies.
We could not have done all this for the women in our Dream Home without the help of our Monthly Partners, our volunteers, and friends who donated gifts. YOU join us on this journey of showing love to these precious daughters. We thank you!
We have seen the true restorative power of love. Our Valentine’s Day was a celebration of loving others and loving ourselves, a crucial step on the path to recovery and a fresh start in life.