Winner of the 2009 Innovation Award

from the

Pillar Non-Profit Networking Organization

Pillar Nonprofit Network supports nonprofit organizations in fulfilling their missions in London and area. We provide leadership, advocacy and support to the nonprofit sector through the promotion of volunteerism, professional development, networking, and information.

 

Saving Elizabeth

For more information and to help, click here.

 

The Fairy Godmother Project & How it began

 An initial investment of $500 seed money by Diann Vail at the November 2003 Business Women’s Conference in London has grown to over $200,000 in services, products, and financial donations given to the community since 2004.

The project started when Diann Vail, inspired by an Oprah program, felt that a unique community project would enhance the experience of the Business Women’s Conferences and provide an opportunity to extend to the community, the goodwill generated by the conference. The idea is to give women $100, to use the money to make a difference in the community, then return to the conference to talk about what they had done.

Louise Karch, emcee for the fall 2003 conference, embraced the idea and agreed to present it at the conference. She took a deep breath and asked 200 women to close their eyes. She pulled out a ‘magic’ wand and pressed a tiny pink button that sent the sound of tinkling bells throughout the hall. As women came forward offering to take on a project, she started handing out the five $100 donated cheques, thereby launching the Fairy Godmother Project.

 

In May 2004, the project leaders later dubbed ‘fairy godmothers’, returned to the Women's Business Conference to tell their stories of the community projects. They described what a difference their project had made in the community.  We added a striking pink wedding dress, wings, tiara, and long white gloves to the wand, and the music ‘When you Wish Upon a Star’, to keep the magic alive. 

The first projects were: 

• to develop a local suicide prevention program for teens
• sending assistance to the GoGo Grannies in South Africa
• an art project that for a day paired 10 aspiring child artists with a local artist
• a sports day in Toronto for a boy taking cancer treatments
• creating Christmas for a family that would otherwise not have had one
  

Fairy Godmother Project October 24,2008

Delegates of the Women’s Conference in spring of 2004 donated $1,000 to send another group of fairy godmothers into the community. This doubled the number of community projects for fall 2004.

Results: As of November 2008, delegates of the *Women's Business Conference have

1. given out $10,000 in seed money to 87 fairy godmothers.

2. Those funds have been turned into over $150,000 in services, products, and donations.

3. From Diann’s original $500 seed money, the return has been spectacular not only for those who received the support, but for the fairy godmothers who embarked on the journey to make a difference in the lives of those who are less fortunate in our community.

We are presently working on a book of the Fairy Godmother Projects – including photos and promotional material. Reading the stories is a wonderful tribute to the women of London who have taken on projects to improve their community.

Hearing the fairy godmother’s stories and how their projects have personally affected them, makes clear the biblical wisdom that it is indeed far better to give than to receive.

Diann Vail, BA (Hons), President,
Women's Directory & Conferences Creator/Producer,
Fairy Godmother Project
Box 25152, London, ON, N6C 6A9
tel: 519-668-5677 fax: 519-668-6883

diannvail@rogers.com 
www.londonwomensdirectory.com

 

To view more of the the Fairy Godmother Story click here

To view the Fairy Godmother Stories, click the title for each.

Spring 2004 - Fall 2004

Spring 2005 - Fall 2005

Spring 2006 - Fall 2006

Spring 2007 - Fall 2007

Spring 2008 - Fall 2008

Spring 2009 - Fall 2009

Spring 2010 - Fall 2010

 diannvail@rogers.com    www.fairygodmotherproject.ca      www.londonwomensdirectory.com