Sickle Cell Family Day

There are some events for the Polished Girlz that fill our cup as much as filling the cups of others. Sickle Cell Family Day was definately one of them. To be a part of this educational fun day was so heart warming.There was actually a line to wit for the Polished Girlz!
There were a young group of praise dancers performing which shows that there are so many creative ways for young people to express themselves. You had the youth volunteers from Polished Girlz making the girls feel beautiful on the outside, and the wonderful group of dancers filling our hearts on the inside.
Today Was a good  great day!
You Go Girlz!

The Polished Girlz would also like to send a warm welcome to NU NU! Our newest volunteer! NuNu is 11 yo nd did an amazing job on her first polish event! We cannot wait to see you again NuNu you are a rock star!

Mended Little Hearts

Our newest clients on a bi monthly schedule are the lovely little ones of Mended Little Hearts. Mended Little Hearts,  is a support program for parents of children with congenital heart defects/heart disease, they are dedicated to inspiring hope in those who care for the littlest heart patients of all. Mended Little Hearts offers resources and a caring support network as families find answers and move forward to find healing and hope.
On this visit we had a special treat! The Polished Girlz received a box of Wish wands as a donation from the wonderful Lilly Pearl. Each of our clients was able to choose their very own wish wand and make a wish. Oh How we wished this event would never end!!
Thank you to our special volunteers the Girl Scouts of Wilmington Ohio for bringing extra love to these children with such big hearts!
You Go Girlz

MVDSA

We are fortunate enough to see our Girls from the  Miami Valley Down Syndrome Association monthly  so we get to be part of really cool events in their lives and this visit was no different!
Today Ms Olivia got a visit from her niece who she does not get to see very often because she lives in a different state, fortunately for us I am obsessed with picture taking and the Polished Girlz were there to give them both  treat so it was a win win for all of us!
You Go Girlz

GiGi's Playhouse Chicago

The Polished Girlz Tem Chicago had the awesome opportunity to Polish for GiGi's Playhouse Mother Daughter event!   great time was had by all. We are so thankful to participate in bringing joy into the lives of Girlz. Thank you to our newest Polished Girlz for showing that you are never too young to make a difference!

GiGi’s Playhouses are Down syndrome awareness and educational centers that provide resources, specialized teaching, and support to individuals with Down syndrome, their families and the community.

Polished Girlz on Living Dayton

What an exciting day to be interviewed and followed by Living Dayton we could not wait to share the story with you guys!
-You go Girlz!

Hidden Gem: Polished Girlz: wdtn.com

She Loves Me She Loves Me Lots!

 In celebration of our very first anniversary the Polished Girlz deceided to do something even more special for our clients at the Miami Valley Down Syndrome Association! After a wonderful polish we took Valentines Day pictures, and boy did we capture a lot of love.

I am always amazed at the joy that the simple act of kindness brings but today really got the entire families in on the joy as well which made it double fun for us. We hope that you enjoy our Valentines Day Photos as much as we enjoyed taking them.

With Kindness~ The Polished Girlz

Happy Birthday Polished Girlz Pink!

Well, we are super excited about whats to come this year for the Polished Girlz!
So far in January we have been able to serve the Children's Medical Center, the Down Syndrome Association, the United Rehabilitation Services, and have added to our list of clients Mended Little Hearts in both Ohio and Illinois.  We re also in the process of starting teams across the US.
We get so excited about the opportunity to serve, and the opportunity to have our volunteers all over serve children that are in the hospital and children with special needs.
One of the coolest things that has happen for us was our Partnership this Holiday Season with Orly Beauty,one of the nations top nail polish manufactures. Not only did we get to tour their facility in California where they treated Alanna like an Angel, but they surprised us by naming a Polish after us, Polished Girlz Pink! How cool is that!
We have been able to try out the Polished Girlz Pink on several of our clients and I must tell you they are in Love! And we love when we give these girls something that they love.

One of the children in the hospital was supposed to get discharged on the day when we were scheduled to polish. They received some news that would keep her in the hospital for a day or so extra and she was not excited about that at all. She had a couple of her friends that were able to visit here during her stay and they were still there when the Polished Girlz came to visit. What started off as a boring time in a small hospital room with a dear friend ended up being a cool spa date between girls, the smiles were endless and we could not be more proud. Instead of sending one volunteer to her room we sent a team of three cool teenagers with all of the glitter and stickers you could possibly think of and the Polished Girlz Spa was official open in her room.
They enjoyed every minute of the pampering and so did we. To hear her mom talk on the phone and say "we, are gonna be home late, the girls are getting Mani's, Yes in the hospital." was one Polished Feeling, and believe me it was our pleasure!

~You Go Girlz

Giving Thanks

Well, as the year is winding down and the Polished Girlz reflect on how much each and every one of our clients have touched our lives and the lives of the other volunteers we are proud to have met and cared for some of the most remarkable clients ever.

 They are the kids that often times are not treated the same, or receive the same care free day to day that a lot of children are so privileged to have, but they smile and show love and gratitude for everything that they have been blessed with anyway.

Yesterday we polished {K} at the Down Syndrome Association. This was not the first time that we had the privilege of adding sparkle and shine to Ms {K} but it was the first time that I had ever been approached by her Dad. Such a loving and proud father of few words. He said to me, "you know, I just want to thank you guys for polishing her, I cannot believe that she is now walking around with her hands up just to make sure that the nails dry," and he gave a smile that you could tell meant so much more than a Dad that was happy to see his daughter with half dry pink glitter nails. As I looked over at {K} I realized that not only was she holding up her hands, but she was holding up her chin, looking straight ahead at the glitter and sparkle, and she looked around the room as if to check if anyone else saw her new hands and new smile.
 It was at that moment that the Polished Girlz Organization clicked even more than it ever had before. I was a witness to a young girl holding her hands and her head up for maybe not the first time, but for a really important time, because she was proud and felt beautiful, and that was my Thanksgiving Gift this year.

With Love~

We are all different which make us all exactly the same.

Don't just Sit there Do Something



The Polished Girlz are pleased  and excited to announce that we have been awarded the
 Do Something.org Seed Grant for non profits that are making a difference in their communities! We are so excited about what this award means for us. Not only is there a grant involved that helps with the cost of running a non profit organization but they offer so much additional support for the organizations. They are trying to motivate young people to serve in their communities.
We are honored that they thought that Alanna and the Polished Girlz were a group that they would like to work with and mentor. If you are interested in starting a Polished Girlz Team in your community please email us at polishedgirlz@yahoo.com or if you have a desire to motivate youth to serve for a different cause please check out Do Something.org they are more than willing to help!

~You Go Girlz!

Favorite Nail Designs!

Although there are a huge amount of nail designs that we love we hare gathering a list of some of the designs that we think may just be the coolest for our clients!

        Rule #1      ~Must be fun       Rule #2      ~Must be cool  
                              Rule #3      ~Glitter always helps!






Stay tuned for the 2012 list!

Start A Team

If you are interested in starting a Polished Girlz team in your city please email volunteer services at polishedgirlz@yahoo.com and our support staff will contact you for additional information and orientation schedule.

Thank You for Your Interest!

                                               About Us

The “Polished Girlz” nail team was started by then 10yo Alanna J.Wall.  Born in 2000, Alanna truly is a new millennium girl. She wanted to combine her love of drawing and nail design for different projects and she knew that she was too young to volunteer at most organizations. Nevertheless, Alanna's compassionate spirit made her want to share her talents with young ladies that were hospitalized or not feeling quite as “polished”, so she decided to start her own organization. Add a mission of hand washing, infection reduction, and a few like minded friends, and the “Polished Girlz” were born. Born to Rock, Born to Shine, and Born to Serve!

Fast forward through year one, and what started as a single girl with a dream and her mom, has grown into hundreds of children served and almost 100 registered volunteers and counting! We are excited to continue with Alanna's vision as it spreads throughout the United States and are quite excited to Polish the girls of Ghana West Africa in June 2012, in conjunction with the Brown Learning Center.

The Polished Girlz are available to polish for hospitals, support groups, chemotherapy centers, dialysis centers, and private referred clients. Please feel free to contact us at polishedgirlz@yahoo.com for additional information.

Media

Dayton Daily News -May 2011

WDTN Channel 2  -May 2011

Huber Heights Currier -May 2011

Goddess Girl Magazine -Summer 2011

United Way 2011 Campaign -August 2011

Dayton Daily News -September 2011

Vandalia Drummer Newspaper -September 2011

Buy Dayton -October 2011

New Moon Girls Magazine -November 2011

SoulKissesTv- Web communication article – November 2011

Awards

United Way Volunteer Organization of the Month- June 2011

Proclamation from the Mayor of the City of Dayton- May 2011

Khols Kids Who Care Scholarship July 2011

Kids are Heroes award October 2011

Kid of the Week –October 2011

Do Something.org Seed grant recipient – November 2011



Special Needs Organizations

The Polished Girlz serve at varity of communtiy organizations and support groups.It is our pleasure to serve these wonderful girls and teach them about the importance of hand washing. Our goal to "Polish" girls with Special Needs all over the United States and Abroad. We are excited that such a simple act of love can bring such happiness to both the clients that we serve and the youth volunteers that serve them. As an organization, the Polished Girlz seek to empower not only their clients, but their volunteers, by offering them opportunities to improve the quality of life, build invaluable leadership skills, and providing them with opportunities for community service, and most importantly to have our hand washing information reduce hospitalizations and infection rates among girls with special needs. Please contact us at polishedgirlz@yahoo.com for additional information.

 A partial list of organizations that we support and serve include:

The Miami Valley Down Syndrome Association

Children's Medical Center

United Rehabilitation Services

Muscular Dystrophy Association of Greater Dayton/Cincinnati

Summit Academy

Baby Elijah Fundraising Event

Private Special Needs Client

Donate

Thank you for your interest in donating to the Polished Girlz Organization. The Polished Girlz Organization is a 501c3 which means that your donations are tax deductable. Because this organization is Not for Profit we rely on the kindness and generosity of Community Members, Community Leaders, Kind Hearted Business and above all our wonderful volunteers.

We are proud of every volunteer that has taken the time to serve our clients or send a bottle of nail polish, all of those things are what make this organization work and one is not more than the other.

To make donations of supplies or gift of your  monetary donation, please mail  supplies, check or money order:

C/O

Polished Girlz

Po Box 60293

Dayton, Ohio

45406

To join our group of wonderful volunteers or start a team, please email us at polishedgirlz@yahoo.com or give us a call at 937-559-9605.

Please Join our List of wonderful Corporate Sponsors and Partners and please visit their websites to view their products!

      DoSomething.org         

*2011 Grant Winner!*

Orly Beauty
Deborah Lippmann

 OPI

Caboodles

 Stephanie Johnson

Aarons

 Jewelry for a Cause

Contact Us

Thank you for your interest in the Polished Girlz Organization.

If you would like to contact us for any reason please feel free to email us at polishedgirlz@yahoo.com and someone will respond promptly.

A Polished Party

Today we polished for the beautiful Girls of the Down Syndrome Association Happy Halloween Party. We polish for them every month, and every month we are excited about what stories our girls have, how well they are doing in school and how amazing their lives are. You see they have special needs but they are just as special if not more special than every other child that I have ever met. They had the coolest costumes ever, from Perfect Princess, to a Polished Pirate, a little ladybug, and a baby Buckeye (Go Ohio!)
I am grateful to Alanna for starting this organization to teach us all about caring for people that we would not have ever expected to meet, to care for and to love. I would like to think that these girls are just a chance encounter on life's road but I know that each and everyone of them will be a part of our lives forever. We went on a cruise and had to miss the month of August, while at sea Alanna remarked, "what about our girls, they will be waiting on us." The funny thing is that I felt the same way.
 You see, all my adult life I have been paid to be a nurse and I have had a remarkable life as a nurse, but I have never been so rich as working for this organization for free.
Happy Fall, Happy Halloween
~You go Girlz!

A Polished Vision

The Polished Girlz Organization envisions a community in which every special needs youth experiances nurturing on-to-one relationships and peer support through promoting hygeine and nail care, this in turn allows them to develop into their full potential capable of feeling respected, encouraged, and included.
How Polished is that!

Fall into nail Fashion

The Polished Girlz don't just paint nails! They are known for their glitter art, stickers and hand drawn designs. So to get the volunteers motivated for all of our great fall service dates we have decieded to post the coolest in fall nail trends, some may be eady and some may be difficult but they are all "Polished"!

Stay Polished Girlz!

A Polished Mission

The Mission of Polished Girlz Inc is simple because it came from the heart of its now 11 year old founder Alanna something easy to understand and easy to facilitate:
The Mission of the Polished Girlz Inc. is to empower Girls with Special needs or frequent hospitalizations to develop increased self esteem and improve their quality of life by promoting hygiene and self perception.
Handwashing Saves Lives
-You Go Girlz!

A Polished Children's Medical Center

It took a while to put into words the experiance that we had this month at the Children's Medical Center. First, it was such an honor to be there bringing smiles to the patients and their families, but more than that it showed our young volunteers how special their peer to peer support really is. Not often are you able to witness so much care, and love between young strangers and we were so proud of them. I would like to personally thank the Vandaila Butler Varsity Volleyball team!

I know that the Vandalia Butler Varsity volleyball team is used to taking the ball and spiking it, but this past Wednesday their performance as volunteers for the non profit organization Polished Girlz.org let us know that they were a team of true All Stars.

The Polished Girlz organization was founded by 10yo Alanna Wall. Now, 11, Alanna’s teams of volunteers have served close to 300 special needs, and hospital clients, including children in Ohio and Illinois.

The Polished Girlz mission is simple; teach hygiene and hand washing to children with special needs, or that are hospitalized by having their peers polish and create nail art on their nails. This peer to peer support leads to increase self esteem, self perception, and for some very sick children a chance to just feel “normal” like they are hanging out with friends.

Led by Alanna and Vandalia Butler Varsity  Volleyball senior classmen Kyla Nardecchia, Alyssa Ryerse, Whitney Barftknecht and Alisha Rakestraw as well as coach Stacey Whetstone the entire team came out to polish the children at Children’s Medical Center as Polished Girlz volunteers, lifting the spirits of the children and their families.

“We simply could not have done it without all of these girls; they were an active example of everything Alanna hoped the Polished Girlz would become” says Polished Girlz Executive Director Valerie Ragland RN BSN.

 And what did our young founder think when this team of teens came to help her serve, she stated “I feel like they did a great job and they definitely put a sparkle in all of the patients lives today!” Coach Jeff Kreill even stated that the girls were still talking about the event in school the next day and recanted how each time he asked a team member how it went he got a “hand to the heart” and they said how much they loved it.

The entire Polished Girlz family would like to recognize the Vandalia Butler Varsity Volleyball team for their support, dedication and hard work. We could not have done it without them.

To learn more about the Polished Girlz organization or to make a donation please visit our website at www.polishedgirlz.org and be sure to “like” our facebook page which gives detailed accounts of their events and polish schedule for future volunteers. If you have a special needs support group, or are a hospital representative and would like for the Polished Girlz to visit your organization please email polishedgirlz@yahoo.com.