What better time to celebrate women than during International Women’s Friendship Month (IWFM)? In 1999, Kappa Delta Sorority created National Women’s Friendship Day and eventually extended it to the entire month of September due to its tremendous popularity.
The purpose of IWFM is to cherish the lovely women in your life and the roles they play in your everyday life. A role that these special ladies play is helping build your self-confidence through actions such as saying encouraging words, giving a supportive hug and always having unfaltering faith in you.
The Confidence Coalition, also created by Kappa Delta in 2009, addresses issues that diminish confidence in women and girls. This movement helps promote confidence among women of all ages to stand up to peer pressure, stereotypes and to put an end to bullying. One example of their efforts to build confidence in women and girls is the “You Make Me Smile” Campaign, a project that seeks to boost self-esteem and confidence in women by handing out messages of inspiration.
Celebrate International Women’s Friendship Month by showing the ladies in your life how important they are by:
1. Simply saying thank you– We tend to overlook the small things that our mother, best friends, cousins, aunts and all the other women in our lives say and do. For once take the time to thank them—I promise you, they’ll appreciate it!
2. Making a phone call- Nothing is more heartwarming than getting an unexpected phone call from someone you love. Call a woman who has inspired you and thank her personally!
3. Sending a letter, card or flowers (or all 3? )– Tell a long distance friend or relative how much they mean to you by surprising them by sending them a personalized letter they will love.
4. Spending time with them– Plan a girls’ night out, cook or bake a new recipe together, make crafts with cute friendship quotes, get a mani-pedi or even a massage! Do something different and adventurous such as trying ethnic foods at a new restaurant, going apple picking, sky diving, white-water rafting or even ziplining! This will let you and your favorite ladies make special memories you can treasure (and laugh about) in the future!
5. Reminiscing about memories you’ve had together-Laugh and cry with your best friends or even your mom over some ice cream while recounting the countless memories you’ve shared over the years.
6. Making a photo album– Get cool scrapbook ideas from Pinterest and make a cute, nostalgic collage of all your favorite pictures with the special women in your life.
7. Making a playlist – So many of the people we know and the memories we’ve had can be associated with music. Make a playlist of songs that remind you of that person and your relationship with them.
You can celebrate IWFM right here on TCNJ’s Campus! TCNJ Kappa Delta is hosting events on campus to inspire confidence and to celebrate friendship among women. The sorority handed out balloons with inspirational and positive sayings as a part of the “You Make Me Smile” campaign on September 12!
Keep an eye out for other events celebrating International Women’s Friendship Month such as “Step with Confidence” on September 17 at 8:30p.m. and the Friendship Photo Booth on September 29 starting at 11 a.m. at the Stud!
International Women’s Friendship Month isn’t the only time you should celebrate the women in your life who have inspired and encouraged you! Thank them whenever you can, because we all know we’d be nowhere without them!