Rachel Doyle of GlamourGals
CAUSE: Rachel Doyle started by visiting her local senior home and providing complimentary beauty makeovers and companionship to the women there. Now, she's the CEO of her own non-profit, GlamourGals—a nationwide organization that enables teens and seniors to spend quality time together and bond over beauty and fashion.
EFFECT: Rachel has started close to 70 chapters and mobilized over 1,000 volunteers.
GET INVOLVED: Start a local GlamourGals chapter at your high school or college, intern for the organization, or make a donation.
Photo courtesy of Brookdale Senior Living1/5"I was seventeen when I started GlamourGals to honor my grandmother, who had passed away. She lived in a senior home and had a career in beauty and fashion. I loved the idea of bringing back an old beauty shop, and I came up with the idea of giving manicures to seniors in homes. GlamourGals gave its first makeover in 2000, and now—twelve years later—we have 1,400 volunteers."
2/5This entrepreneur encourages teens to connect with women in senior homes by offering beauty treatments.
Photo courtesy of William Mebane3/5"After I came up with the idea, I created a mission statement and a program outline so it was something that I could share with people. I got corporate support by writing letters to cosmetic companies. After we got national press, I started creating local chapters in other cities so that girls could replicate what I was doing. I learned in college that working for a non-profit could be a job, so I started writing business plans and managing chapters."
Photo courtesy of Caryn Zweig4/5"We inspire teens to provide companionship and beauty makeovers to seniors living in the homes. We work with two fragile populations: teenagers and seniors. Both age groups can feel like people don't understand them, and they want someone to root for them. It's a wonderful way of building mutual respect between two generations and boosting the self-esteem of both parties involved."
5/5"If you want to start an organization, do your research and see if there is anyone else doing the same thing. If no one else is, then your idea is unique, and unique ideas get picked up by the media and get people interested."
