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McKenna Love, a senior in the Academy of Finance at Coral Reef Senior High School, has combined her passion for cosmetics and skin care with her compassion for those experiencing personal challenge. She recently created a service project that benefits women and teens living in homeless and domestic abuse shelters and calls it Women on the Glow. Love’s community service effort is designed to provide makeup to help these women look and feel their best while bringing out their inner glow.
The project was born out of McKenna’s love for makeup and her desire to one day be a successful businesswoman and entrepreneur with her own cosmetics line. She was looking for a way to support women and teens experiencing homelessness and those who are victims of domestic violence.
“Makeup has always been a safe space for me and a creative outlet,” Love said. “I was inspired to share with others the things that give me comfort in hopes that it might encourage them and build their self-esteem. I decided to develop this project to buy and secure donations of cosmetic basics and skin care items that women and teens can use in their daily routines or for school, work, interviews or appointments.”
While she had planned to launch the program in her junior year, the pandemic put a pause on her efforts. She used the spring and summer months of 2020 to research the needs, contact local organizations and develop her project proposal. Last fall, her dream came to fruition as she launched Women on the Glow. To date, Love has raised more than $1,000 in funds from family, friends and the community. Additionally, she received donated cosmetics, skin care products and hair care items valued at $1,000 from classmates at Coral Reef Senior High and from the owner of Falls-area hair salon Natural and Relaxed.
She has donated 25 gift bags with makeup essentials to the ladies of Jefferson Reaves House in conjunction with Project Women In Transition (W.I.T.), a community service program sponsored by the Dade County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. In February, Love participated in a virtual self-care event for Project W.I.T. where she presented her Women on the Glow project to the clients. She recently donated 48 gift bags for women living in the domestic violence shelters and transitional housing associated with the Safespace Foundation, Inc. Additional items will be donated to local homeless shelters this spring.
While the pandemic has upended Love’s senior year, she continues to stay busy with her academics, extracurricular activities and volunteer work. Love is a member of Coral Reef’s Black Student Union, National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, National Business Honor Society and Future Business Leaders of America. She has volunteered more than 300 hours with Zoo Miami as a Conservation Teen Scientist, and she is an active member of the Miami-Dade Children’s Trust Youth Advisory Committee.
In April, Love will be presented to society as a debutante during the Miami Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc’s 71st Debutante Cotillion. She has been offered admission to study business at Florida A&M University, University of Central Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Stetson University and Indiana University. While she has not made a final decision on where she will attend college in the fall, she will continue her Women on the Glow project.
“I want to keep giving back to the community and providing the cosmetic and skin care items to these brave women and teens as they heal emotionally and rebuild their lives,” Love said.
Cosmetic and skincare donations can be made by accessing the Women on the Glow Wish List on Amazon. You can follow the project’s success on Instagram @_womenontheglow and send email inquiries to womenontheglow@gmail.com.
