Inspired by Dove’s national campaign for “Real Beauty” the Business and Professional Women of the Wenatchee Valley (BPW) are replicating the campaign and bringing it closer to home by challenging its members to have their portrait taken by local photographer, Nicolette Manning. Un-edited images will be displayed and the community is invited to participate. They have named their version of the project “Untouched Beauty.” The following article was written by Andrea Uchytil.
The Journey of Professional Women
How do we as women get to where we are today when we are so young? The answer came today in an interview with Nicolette Manning, Cascade Medical Foundation, about the Real Beauty Campaign hosted by the organization of Business and Professional Women (BPW).
The inspiration came to Nicolette when she saw Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign project, which focused on women’s confidence as opposed to their anxiety. With this project, Nicolette’s vision is to show young women in this community that the word “professional” is not just an image created by social media. Her goal it to portray the diversity of professionalism as is found in BPW.
Each member will have their photo taken, as they are, which will be displayed at Pybus Public Market on May 15th at 5pm. The community is invited to attend and write their opinions on sticky notes and place them on the photos. The idea of the project is to boost women’s self esteem in this valley. “We see ourselves one-way and that may not be the true way.” The campaign’s mission is to give women confidence that WE are beautiful.
The purpose of BPW is to lead by example of professionalism in order to educate the young women in our community what it means to be a professional. This is through writing, speech, and the way they dress. BPW’s initiative is to promote healthy living in the community by being the “healthiest city.” How women view them-selves fits into their initiative.
Nicolette is a transplant from Sacramento, California. She moved up here with her husband and son a year ago. Life’s challenges had shown them that they needed to create a new beginning. They packed up their personal items and after her husband found a job in the Wenatchee Valley, they relocated. Nicolette was able to stay home with their son for about 4 months before heading back into the workforce. Her goal, right from the beginning, was to get to know the community and to obtain a positive outlook on life.
Nicolette’s ambition of becoming a member of BPW is to provide awareness to women that there is a life after kids. “We need to move forward and change our ways. Life is not about one career but about the opportunities to reach for our dreams through our passions, whether it’s through one, two or multiple careers in our lives.”
For more information about “Untouched Beauty” or BPW Wenatchee, please contact Rebecca Maloney, Media Chair at rmaloney@nmtitlegroup.com or call (509) 679-3598.
