The last time I was in Las Vegas, I was 4 years old, bundled in the back of a station wagon with my sleeping cousins. I don't remember much, other than arriving late at night, and my mother waking us up to see "all the pretty lights" as we drove down the Strip. As an adult, I never had much of a desire to go to Vegas. My husband and I are not gamblers, and it seemed a rather far way to go to see a show, considering that Broadway is a two-hour drive away. I just never gave it much thought, since I obviously wasn't missing anything.
Oh, how I love it when life proves me wrong.
Las Vegas, land of and sequins and slick promises, it's bright lights a beacon to the hopeful and hopeless, is actually a city with a huge heart. Las Vegas is misjudged solely by it's alter-ego, designed to attract tourists and their money. But, like a show-girl covered in thick stage makeup, you need only to wash off the the caked layers to uncover the real beauty beneath. Dazzling, head-turning, genuine beauty.
Economically depressed, with the worst housing market in the nation, Las Vegas' true heart comes from it's residents. Those who haven't experienced hard times themselves have seen it, up close and personal, among family, friends and neighbors. A definite perception of tenuousness abounds, as if the solid ground of a job and money in the bank may be pulled beneath their feet at any moment.
You would think that this undercurrent of uncertainty would foster an "every man for himself" mentality, yet I have seen the opposite is true. When I was initially approached to start a Fabulous Shoe Night/Las Vegas chapter, I was excited, thinking it was the perfect glitz and party town for a showy kick-off, and planned a trip out there for the fun and glamour Vegas is known for. While there was plenty of glitz and glamor to be found, non-gambler that I am, I left with pockets filled with sweet memories, a new, dear friend, and a heart brimming with the realization that I was lucky Las Vegas found me and Fabulous Shoe Night.
I was picked up at the airport by my friend Julie, the FSN/Las Vegas chapter leader, whom I had never met before. Friend? Oh, yes … by this time, it was obvious we were friends. Some things you just know.
We spent cumulative hours on the phone before meeting, and sent copious emails back and forth, all in preparation of the new chapter's launch. It was obvious, this new chapter was in the best of hands. Fabulous Shoe Night is a labor of love, and those who don't get it never will get it. Sweet, easy to talk to, with a huge heart … Julie gets it. Her friends, who I humorously dubbed as "elves" for the magic they performed putting the event together, get it. And the women of Las Vegas, who so fully embraced the FSN concept and came out in droves to support it, absolutely get it.
We spent cumulative hours on the phone before meeting, and sent copious emails back and forth, all in preparation of the new chapter's launch. It was obvious, this new chapter was in the best of hands. Fabulous Shoe Night is a labor of love, and those who don't get it never will get it. Sweet, easy to talk to, with a huge heart … Julie gets it. Her friends, who I humorously dubbed as "elves" for the magic they performed putting the event together, get it. And the women of Las Vegas, who so fully embraced the FSN concept and came out in droves to support it, absolutely get it.
I was moved, sometimes to tears, by the hard work and determination Julie and her team put into the event. They desperately wanted it to be a success … not for the sake of success itself, but because of who they were working for.
Julie and her chapter advisors chose to benefit Project 150LV for the launch, a charity dedicated to helping the 5000+ homeless teens in the Las Vegas area. Yes … that's right. Five THOUSAND homeless teenagers in and around Las Vegas. It's hard enough just being a teenager, but to add homelessness to the mix? I can't even begin to imagine.
Julie and her chapter advisors chose to benefit Project 150LV for the launch, a charity dedicated to helping the 5000+ homeless teens in the Las Vegas area. Yes … that's right. Five THOUSAND homeless teenagers in and around Las Vegas. It's hard enough just being a teenager, but to add homelessness to the mix? I can't even begin to imagine.
I was so elated at their choice of charity that I broke one of my own hard and fast rules and allowed three men to attend the launch event … the founders of Project 150LV. Patrick, Don and Blake are, quite simply, great guys. Two of the three are teachers at a local high school, and have a front row seat on the front lines. It must be hard to see the effects of homelessness on the children they teach, but for these men, harder to see it and not do anything about it. Time and again, I saw evidence of the heart of Las Vegas, and Don, Pat and Blake have it in spades.
The evening of the launch party went by in a blur. At one point, there was a line, ten-deep, to get in. The invitation requested a donation of gently used shoes, and by the end of the evening, we had collected over 400 pair of shoes, donated by 82 women. I told you Vegas had heart.
Again and again, as I mingled in the crowd, introducing myself, talking with the women, I was asked, "How did you think of this?" My answer was always the same, "I don't know … I don't know. It just kind of … evolved." And, again and again, much to my chagrin, I was thanked. "Thank you so much for thinking of this … for providing us with an affordable girl's night out … for giving us an opportunity to give back … for getting us out of the house … for giving us a reason to wear our shoes that have been sitting in the closet."
Again and again, as I mingled in the crowd, introducing myself, talking with the women, I was asked, "How did you think of this?" My answer was always the same, "I don't know … I don't know. It just kind of … evolved." And, again and again, much to my chagrin, I was thanked. "Thank you so much for thinking of this … for providing us with an affordable girl's night out … for giving us an opportunity to give back … for getting us out of the house … for giving us a reason to wear our shoes that have been sitting in the closet."
I, in turn, thanked them, for none of this would have been possible without them. "Thank you for coming … for believing in my dream. Thank you for your support. Thank you for spreading the word and bringing so many friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you …."
The thank you's echoed back and forth, bounced off the walls, and circled back again. As always the case with gratitude, it multiplied and spread it's wings, growing ever larger and stronger, leaving what I can only describe as a pink, happy glow around the room, and an infusion of sisterhood, good-will and happiness. You could see it. There was magic, right there in the room with us, and you could actually see it.
The thank you's echoed back and forth, bounced off the walls, and circled back again. As always the case with gratitude, it multiplied and spread it's wings, growing ever larger and stronger, leaving what I can only describe as a pink, happy glow around the room, and an infusion of sisterhood, good-will and happiness. You could see it. There was magic, right there in the room with us, and you could actually see it.
As I flew back home, my heart literally bursting, I felt as if my joy alone was powering the aircraft. Watching the red earth below grow ever greener as we headed east, I felt my dreams swirling among the clouds, perhaps where they first originated, confident that they were that much closer to becoming true on solid ground.
Thank you, Las Vegas, for showing me your heart, and all that goes along with it. Thank you for welcoming me with open arms, and embracing my "little idea that could." It is because of you and your confidence in the Fabulous Shoe Night concept that we continue to expand, enabling us to spread the joy, spread the love, and spread the giving.
How beautifully ironic is it then, that because of you, Las Vegas, the odds are most definitely in our favor?
Special thanks go out to Anton Lopez of 89photography.com for so generously donating his time and talent.
