Desire to Aspire // Women's Empowerment Summit // Styled Mini Maternity Sessions // Chicago, Illinois

Styled Mini Maternity Session
Desire to Aspire // Women's Empowerment Summit
Kenwood Academy // Chicago, Illinois

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Wow, where do I begin... 

My heart is SO full. 
I am humbled, thankful, and so gracious at the generosity of so many people that made this photo shoot possible. 

Last year a Chicago charity, Desire to Aspire reached out to me to see if I would be interested in helping them out with a Women's Empowerment Summit they were hosting in Chicago. I was asked to volunteer my time to do mini maternity sessions for the moms-to-be. Desire to Aspire wanted to provide them with something beautiful by which to remember their pregnancy. After learning more about the charity, I jumped at the chance! 

The mission of Desire to Aspire is to enrich the lives of underprivileged and minority girls and women. They instill in young ladies the importance of higher education, sisterhood, etiquette, culture and service -- all while building self-esteem and character. They teach young ladies good decision-making skills in order to avoid high-risk behaviors such as drugs, alcohol and violence. They also provide educational services and resources for women to ensure that they lead successful careers and healthy lives, socially, emotionally, and physically. (Amazing mission statement, and most of all an AMAZING group of ladies who run the organization!) 

Since we wanted to create something special for the moms, I thought that a styled session would be the way to go! In the midst of planning, my friend reached out to the Milwaukee women's community to see if they would be interested in donating some gently used bridesmaid dresses. The outpouring of support and dresses was humbling! All together we had about 20 dresses donated for the session. 

We were also able to work with an amazing makeup artist and hair stylist that made the ladies feel beautiful, inside and out.  We also had great support from EcoTools and The Fashion Companion! 

THANK YOU all for making this session possible!

Through your generosity, I think we created something special and beautiful. 

Love + Appreciation! 

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A Little Behind the Scenes 

The Fashion Companion, an online store for women's accessories let us use beautiful pieces of jewelry for the session.  

EcoTools was amazingly gracious and not only donated brushes to be used by the makeup artists but also provided everyone who attended the Baby Shower with amazing of EcoTools goodies!

A special THANK YOU to these amazing women who came together to help me make the shoot possible. 
(L-R, La Verne Morris, Unwana Rose, Charity Shaviers, me :) 

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Event: Desire to Aspire Women's Empowerment Summit
Maternity Photographer : Dominika Fitzgerald
Makeup Artist : Charity Shaviers from Bridal Brigade
Hair Stylist: Unwana Rose  
Makeup Sponsor: EcoTools
Jewelry Sponsor: The Fashion Companion
Event Photographer: La Verne Morris from Octavia Images