By: “Angela Apple”
I believe I have addressed my History and experiences with the brief Summary Resume I put together. As far as some of the questions that you posed, I would offer the following to start with.
I believe that I am most passionate when I have had opportunities to provide services to help others through the kindness and giving of the Organizations that I have had the privilege to have been involved with.
As to Angela’s Angels, it started as an idea to help young ladies who couldn’t afford to go to their Prom because of the additional costs associated with purchasing gowns, shoes and accessories. I had seen a similar project in the Eastern part of our State, however they had “pre-requirements” that the girls had to qualify for. The idea became a reality when a friend of mine that had a Bridal Boutique decided to go out of the business. I happened to be in her store and when she told me she was closing her Boutique, I asked her what her intent was for the 100 gowns that were still inventoried in her store. Her initial response was…….”Why do you ask?” When I told her of my idea, she didn’t hesitate to say, “Take the gowns, they are yours” and the reality began.
AngelasAngels.Org, Inc. a 501©(3) Non Profit was formed in January of 2006 to carry out our Mission to help provide High School girls their Prom attire without charge and without any definitive pre-requisites other than they indicating they need the help.
Probably the most difficult and challenging facet of our business, is to continue to obtain monetary donations and/or Grants to keep Angela’s Angels going. We have been truly fortunate to have the support of the existing Bridal Salons in our area donating fabulous gowns for us to have for our organization and for Comcast helping get our existence out to the public each year. Additionally, we could not exist at our current location at the Quatrini-Rafferty building in Latrobe without their generous support. Certainly, the most rewarding experiences come when we have a fitting of a young lady and we find the “Perfect” dress and accessories for her to attend her Prom. The expression not only on her face, but also either her parent or grandparent that brought her to us, is positively breathtaking.
I think the advice I would share with other women entrepreneurs is to stay the course with their passion for their cause. Almost certainly, obstacles will continually be put before you. To succeed, you must be able to convince others to believe in what you do as much as you do. You must be a very good listener and able to set forth objectives to help you keep moving forward.
The women that have volunteered their time to help Angela’s Angels succeed in our mission are truly amazing. They give of their time and talents whenever we have one of our Prom fairs and they do not leave until each young lady has explored all the opportunities that we may have in stock. I believe that our organization does make a difference in our community as each year the number of young ladies we help grows and now we have Corporate Charitable donations that are beginning to come in, as organizations see the benefits we provide to the community.
I do not know what will be in the future for me, with the medical drawbacks I sustained from my auto accident. Each day I wake with a positive attitude and look forward to the day’s challenges. My belief, is that Angela’sAngels.Org will continue to grow both as the need to help young girls attend their prom’s do, as well as the awareness of our Corporate community to our existence does. Continued Donations and Grants are required to help us with our mission.
We have created an account on GoFundMe.com for individuals to contribute to our cause. That address iswww.GoFundMe.com/ms61ps