A Really Great Gig, and You can help!

[AniaR]

IN January, Mermaid Mutiny and I will be travelling to NB to do an awesome gig. We'll be participating in a girl's empowerment weekend through a local rec program. The aim is to encourage girls in physical fitness (through swimming) and give them the full mermaid experience. There will be some under privileged girls there as well. We have been bouncing ideas back and forth with the organizers, but they don't have enough money to cover all the things they'd like us to do. Basically they've got our travel and accommodations sponsored (it's about a 6 hour drive from where I live so we'll be road tripping) The budget they have for paying us isn't what we'd charge locally for a similar event and for the amount of time they'd like us. But after loads of discussion, we both want to help this event so much that we're willing to take the payment they can offer. But that means anything beyond simply appearing and swimming, would have to come out of our own pockets. Which, again, we don't mind except that there will be so many girls and it's very difficult to balance the cost as it's likely to exceed what we're being paid. I just want to stress we don't normally take cuts/deals on what we're owed... but we really believe in this cause. We'd donate our time if we could, it just requires so much that we couldn't offer that plus travelling.

So here's the deal. I'll be posting more about this event as details get nailed down. There will be an official website everyone can look at with statements and photos etc.

We're going to do the obvious, swim with the girls, pose for photos, and they're even going to eat lunch with us. We are even going to do underwater portraits and video too which will be compiled into a DVD they get to take home for memories. Here's what we'd like to offer:

-We'd like to do some quick mermaid makeovers. I have certain items like makeup, sparkles, hair extensions etc that I can get locally in bulk. For the amount of kids we'll have to do I am guessing it's going to cost us 200$ CAD for enough supplies.
-I'd like to before January order some more of the kid friendly small finis mermaid monofin. I just ordered one and it's taking weeks to get here. But I'd like to have several for girls to try to try the mermaid experience. THIS DOESN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN. I'd say the mermaid makeovers are more important. But I'd *Like* to make this happen if I could. They're aprox 40$ a pop CAD
- Mimi is going to try and make some kid's fabric tails without monofins so kids can take turns wearing them and pose for photos.
-We'd like to hand out personally signed post cards with personal notes on them to each kid, that have mutiny and I on them.

So how can you help us help these girls?

-If you'd like to send me anything I can use as handouts or for mermaid makeovers, I'd love that! Or if you'd like to make a financial contribution to help us cover the cost of purchasing those things we'd appreciate that too. We have between now and January. Lots of time. I am not asking for handouts now though, I'll make a post when we're ready to accept and have our ducks in a row. Even 5-10$ makes a difference. 10$ buys a pack of mermaid hair. 5$ buys a tube of body sparkles :)

-If you've got any of the small kids monofins you'd be willing to sell or donate, sometime over the next few months we'd be happy to take those off your hands ;)

-if you are someone who makes kid's fabric tails and wouldn't mind donating one or two, that would be amazing. Even left over scrap material turned into something just so they have the experience would be great. OR any funds donated to help us cover the cost of making some locally.

-Any funds donated to help us with the printing cost of postcards. I expect that price to be between 60-80$ CAD if I time it right with coupon codes and SH.


I'll be posting about this properly on my FB once we've got everything organized, but I wanted to give the forum a heads up now. I know money is tight all around for sure. And if no one is in a place to help THAT'S OKAY because I appreciate how hard it is. Believe me, if we could just do it for free and pay for it all ourselves this is one of those events that I totally would.

In return, I'd be happy to publicly list people on our website as supporters of the event, and promote on our FB pages. This is a chance to make a difference for a girl, to inspire her, encourage her, and give her an amazing mermaid experience :)

I'll keep you posted on developments. <3

[Sandra Siren]

I'll gladly donate a fabric tail, where should I send it? And what size should I send?

[AniaR]

would you mind emailing me? We can hash it all out in email :) thank you for your generous donation! raina @ rainamermaid . com no spaces ;)

[Mer-Crazy]

I don't make tails nor have any monofins that would be a suitable size for children. But I am more than happy to donate money to help you guys bring magic to these children. I would have loved something like this when I was a kid, so knowing I can help others even non directly is nice.

[Miyu]

I think that no matter what, they're going to be swimming with the girls and encouraging the fitness aspect, but I'm thinking Raina doesn't want to have to worry about focusing on getting a bunch of kids' monofins as the main focus. Quick mermaid makeovers are much easier to do for everyone than getting a bunch of monofins! :P Plus it gives them a little something to "take home" as well (besides the DVD, haha)

[Mermaid Galene]

I'm all for empowering girls! I can make a financial donation.

[AniaR]

Thanks everyone and for those who emailed me I'll get back to you soon. I appreciate the help and will be sure to document the event here :) Sean and I also decided for those of you offering to make things we'll try and find ways of featuring them as well.

I can't wait for this event it's not until January but we are planning away. Going to be so awesome! :D

[Mermaid Lorelei]

I could send a couple of pieces of jewelry to give as gifts.

[Vixy]

I can make pieces of jewellery with shells and charms on. I don't mind, it's good to have practice and it's a worthy cause.

[AniaR]

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO EMAILED ME. I haven't had a chance to get back to everyone because we are working on finalizing details for the event. I will get back to people and answer your questions. I am super appreciative. They emailed me a draft of what's going on the website and posters etc, it'll look like this:

“A Day in the Life of A Mermaid”
Building Self-Confidence & Mental Resiliency for Youth

Date: Saturday Jan 17th
More Details Coming Soon…..

Activities Include:
· Swimming with a Mermaid
· Mermaid Makeover
· Tea With a Mermaid
· Signed Mermaid Photos
· Swim with a Fin
· Ocean Arts & Crafts

Brought to you by the Halifax Mermaids, the Canadian Mental Health Association and your Civic Centre!


** except I'm getting them to change Halifax Mermaids to Atlantic Mermaids so it is more inclusive of the area we'll be located in**

[AniaR]

Hey everyone I think I emailed everyone who emailed me. If I didn't, please resend your email it must of gotten missed!!!

[Harpress]

Can I make a financial donation via paypal Raina? :)

[AniaR]

Yes I will accept financial donations NEXT month :)

[Mermaid Galene]

Let us know when you're ready. I want to help!

[AniaR]

Thanks everyone!

[PearlieMae]

Following so I can pitch in, too!

[AniaR]

Thanks everyone, I am *still* waiting for them to get back to me on how many they think they'll register. :/ They are organizing other events that are happening beforehand right now but I am hoping to hear soon. For anyone who'd like to make a financial donation (100% will go directly to buying materials for the girls) I'll be contacting people come November :) <3

[Mermaid Galene]

:thumbs-up:

[AniaR]

Oh they finally posted the infographic :)

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10685715_747467145301148_7040207708161375716_n.jpg ?oh=1a329f89f5669fb3dd11d3b667bd3415&oe=54B4A776

[Shimmer Mermaid]

Following so I can get some ideas to help!!

[AniaR]

Hey folks, there are some sales coming up so I'm going to start buying materials for this event! With the right codes I can get a good amount of postcards for the girls through vistaprint. Also, I have a line on treasures locally for buying in bulk.

So to recap, here are the ways you can help:

- If you'd like to send funds that will 100% (except for the fees paypal takes) go toward this event, you can send them to raina at raina mermaid dot com via paypal, or you can use the "tip us" function on halifaxmermaids.com at the bottom. Please put in the information section who you are, your mermaid name, and how you'd like to eventually be credited so that when we do up our list of sponsors we get everything specifically. Funds will be used to purchase the post card prints to give girls (we sign em and give em each one), along with a variety of items we will use for mermaid makeovers and handouts. If you send USD it actually helps us more, as USD is higher than CAD so if you sent 20$ we might actually get 25$ in CAD and everything we buy here locally is in CAD. So it's a big help.

-We need more of the kid's monofins. We only have 1 so far and we have an awesome volunteer on here who is hoping to send us 1 or 2. You folks in the states can get them extremely cheaper than I can from Canada. The "mermaid Fin" we're looking for is 31.99 American and ends up being well over 40$ for us before s+h. Here's a link: http://www.finisinc.com/kids/monofins/mermaid-fin.html Also I have some discount codes that work for USA but don't work for CAD so you can get em even cheaper.
These are the following discount codes I found that you can try: rhinos (gives 30% off) The rest can be seem here: http://www.retailmenot.com/view/finisinc.com?c=5226540 If you'd like to donate a fin it's good to do so sometime in November, you can choose the slowest/cheapest shipping method and it should still get to us in time. If you'd like to do that please contact me for my mailing address. Basically by the time it's all said and done, for the amount I pay for 1 fin, you could get 2 so it really helps to have people in the states buy it. :) You can also find ebay and amazon listings for them as well that may be cheaper.

-Some people have expressed interest in making generically sized kid's fabric tails. We'd love some of those, we're thinking the majority of the girls will be elementary ages. They don't need to have a monofin (just leave em open at the bottom) and can be as simple as you like. Mimi is trying to make a few too. People can also donate money to go toward us making them locally if they prefer. Again, just contact me and I'll give you our mailing address. It's good to ship before the christmas postal season, and that way you can ship it slow and cheap and we'll still get it in time :)

-Finally, some people offered to send handouts and treasures. Honestly I am starting to expect a huge amount of kids. (they still haven't gotten back to me on how many they think they'll register and I suspect they wont until closer to January) So basically we're accepting anything and everything. Don't stress yourself out trying to have "enough" for everyone. We will combine what we buy and what is donated to create something awesome :)


I can't tell you how excited I am to do this. I have to have a surgery right after and it's been such a pain trying to go back and forth with the docs to make sure they schedule it after lol. But I am just so freaking excited to do this for these kids. Photos and video will be taken and of course when it's all said and done I'll do up a big post to show everyone what they contributed to. I just want to go all out for these girls :) <3

[AniaR]

Just touching base to let you all know I found out how many girls they're planning on registering... 100!!! o_O

[Mermaid Galene]

I just donated. Have a great time with these kids! :hug:

[AniaR]

Thanks Galene!!! I'll use that to order photos for the girls :) someone else donated so between the two of you I can order 100 :) thanks!!

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

I have a bunch of bright blue spandex leftover and would be enough for 4 kid size tails which I would be more then willing to make and send since im too broke to donate money.

[Mermaid Wesley]

I would be willing to make some kids tails out of my scraps as well! Not sure how many I could make. Maybe 2-3. If you still need those you can go ahead and message me :)


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[AniaR]

I have a bunch of bright blue spandex leftover and would be enough for 4 kid size tails which I would be more then willing to make and send since im too broke to donate money.

I would be willing to make some kids tails out of my scraps as well! Not sure how many I could make. Maybe 2-3. If you still need those you can go ahead and message me
We'd love that, we need them before January 17th. And since you're canadian- no customs fees :D yay. We'll take any sizes people feel like making. we have monofins already but we're happy to have the ends left open if it's easier for you and for their feet

[Miyu]

Wowza! Thanks for the update on the number of kids attending!

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

Is the only monofin you use for kids the mermaid finis one? I can make the tail ends with that shape. I can just make a small paper mock up of the fin.

I dont have any zippers but I do have lots of button snaps I could throw on the end. I have some fabric dye so if the tests work well and dont fade they will all have scales :)

I have an 8 year old so I can make a simple dummy of her so they are kid sized. Maybe 2 her size and one bigger and one smaller?

[AniaR]

all of that sounds great, and yes it's just the small mermaid fin from finis :)

you're all so amazing! I'm a bit nervous about 100 kids, ideally I'd like to have all 4 mermaids but they can't afford it and we can't afford to donate everything lol. But I am so thankful for everyones help to help us make this amazing. It'll be so amazing!

Right now I am just trying to be sure I have a surgery scheduled AFTER the event. @_@ trying to keep the hospital from scheduling it right before ack

[Mermaid Wesley]

I can try to make them with a fluke that should fit the finis fin. I've never seen one in person soooo I'll have to guesstimate.


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[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

Raina I hope your scheduling works out for you and it all goes well!

Im going to make then over the next two weeks. That way they make it there on time. Postal service in december is always lengthy!

[AniaR]

honestly dont worry about fitting a monofin, just leave the fluke open because most kids like the safety of having access to their feet :) like the original finfun was like

[AniaR]

hey folks I've been super busy this past few days and I'm about to go into busy time again. I just wanted to make sure I am keeping this thread updated as some people have sent money and I want to be transparent about how things are being spent etc! I have been combining my own money (since I picked up some part time work) with the little bits of money people have been sending me.

So first things first, I got post cards done through vistaprint for the girls so each girl gets a signed post card

Second, I paid for time/materials for Mimi to make some basic fabric tails, there are 4 here, she'll be making more if she can, I also picked up 1 finis monofin for kids as mentioned earlier:

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/1533733_856365934394864_3938288999683429676_n.jpg? oh=80b6aa3753813f1e2c2242c5161e560d&oe=550CDC25


An awesome person on the mernetwork who wants to stay anon bought us 2 more fins and sent them our way. We just got the box today, charlie thought perhaps it was his gift...



[img]https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10628209_10154949678080425_5496267200131951077_n.j pg?oh=da27cb6d3d78e1151c7db91cd0a70ff3&oe=551AE0A9&__gda__=1423010044_af2535a866c8948efde1754c7d938d3 7

Here's all 3 of the fins together with mine!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10245411_10154949677415425_843634626827202497_n.jp g?oh=3077e69241516ae90e4100e02e850e3e&oe=55003032&__gda__=1426247181_a235959ad3dd21f448f2196d7f25257 6

We're going to keep trying to get more fins and make/get more tails.

So what I have left is we will literally have 100 girls, lol so I am trying to get 100 of things like hair extensions (we've been using the coloured ones you can get from ardenes with the claw grasp clip- just 1 each) necklaces, bracelets, glitter, and maybe forehead gems (all the places I bought stickers that we used on our faces ALL stopped carrying them grr!) I also picked up some eye patches for mers who wanna be pirates or who maybe don't like the gendered stuff.

A lot of stuff I try and get at bulk through ardenes or the party stores or online. So hopefully I can come up with enough by then :)

Thanks SO much to everyone who has been helping. A news story is going to run on this and I'm going to tell them all about you!!!

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

I will be making my tails this week. I dont suppose you could tell me how wide the kids fin is at the bottom? Id hate to have them end up too small!

Would rainbow loom bracelets work for what you need? We have millions of those rubber bands here....

[Mermaid Wesley]

I'm struggling with finals week and a bunch of craziness, but I will be making the tails as soon as possible. Oh! Raina do you want me to just bring them to merfest with me? Or would you prefer I ship them? Either way I don't mind. If I bring them to merfest I will probably have more time to make them pretty without worrying about shipping them on time.

[AniaR]

Wesley I am sorry I took so long to reply I have been having issues getting tapatalk to work on my phone. It keeps giving me the failed to connect to forum thing when I try to post, and I havent been home enough to use from my PC. If you want to bring them to NC that be fine!

Jamie dont worry about fitting the fin. it sounds like the client is happy to have the fins and tails used separately and they prefer having tails left open so kids have access to their feet :)

thank you both! I just fired off another email to this group trying to nail down details this has been a crazy overwhelming week!

[Mermaid Wesley]

No worries Raina :)


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[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

I will for sure leave them open. They wont have any paint on them, the stuff I have makes the fabric way too stiff and scratchy and not nice :(

I dont have quite as much material as I thought but I do have pink and gold organza. Doesnt absorb water and flows nice in the water so I could make the flukes out of those with spandex leg sleeves. See through for kids who like to see their feet too.

Let me know if you want the rainbow loom bracelets. They are all non latex :)

[AniaR]

yes I'll accept anything you'd be willing to send. thank you thank you thank you!

[Miyu]

What kind of forehead jewels are you looking for? I happen to have an obscene amount of plastic gems in different colours/shapes/sizes, I could include those with some of the extensions I told you about.

[AniaR]

I'd love that! yeah we have NOTHING anymore :( I used to be able to buy a variety of sticky gems etc and now all I find are legit religious bindis which I dont use.

[PearlieMae]

What kind of adhesive do you use for those? I have access to pressure sensitive adhesive, used for flying on toupees. If you like I can send you a bottle of that. A little goes a long long way!

I found out that it doesn't stick to silicone, unfortunately. But I'm sure it would stick on a bunch of acrylic gems!

[Miyu]

Neato! Finally, a way to get rid of all these jewels! I am positive you will have enough for all kids involved :)

[Vixy]

I've found some cheap hair jewels that might work?

[AniaR]

Hey folks. This is happening on Saturday and I finally got final numbers. Looking like over 100 kids. All the funds I got so far went to make fabric tails, buy monofins. And signed small photos. I have to get some more mermaids trinket handouts. I know times are tough all around but if anyone felt Like sponsoring 5-10 bucks wed appreciate it. We are getting paid 100$ each because we cut them a big deal because we believe in the cause. For 6 hours of work, handouts, kids tails etc. Needless to say we aren't breaking even.

We've got some news coverage coming up on the event too and I'm going to talk about the mer community helping us.

[Mermaid Kelda]

Can you give us a link where we can donate?

[AniaR]

scroll to the bottom and there is a paypal donate button :) thank you to anyone who can help! this is a girl's empowerment weekend!

http://halifaxmermaids.weebly.com/contact-us.html

[Mermaid Wesley]

I'm sorry I never got the fabric tails made :( good luck with everything!


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[AniaR]

I just packed up everything tonight as we're driving tomorrow for this and then doing the girl's empowerment workshop on Saturday. We gave a radio interview.

I really believe in the cause but the gig is stressing me out beyond belief. Sean and I won't break even, which wouldnt be so hard to accept if it wasn't for the fact we had to turn down 4 other gigs for this- and would have easily made 5-6 times the money. After all the holiday debt that sure can get to ya.

The planning process has been reallllly difficult. I was approached by the organizers months ago and have been trying to get them to nail things down since then and they only gave me a schedule in the last week or so and I have tried to have them revise it multiple times. They switched my contact person recently too and that new person wasn't filled in on ANY of our terms. Our terms are in place for our safety. And a lot of the info (like what night we'd be staying over, how far a drive it is etc) did not get communicated over to the new person so things got booked incorrectly.

One of the things I am struggling with is I made it clear multiple times we can't swim for 6 hours straight with 100 kids, and I didnt want 1 mermaid stuck doing all the swimming either. Ideally, I wanted it broken into 2 hour blocks where one mermaid is in the pool with 4 groups spread out over 30 minute intervals, the other mermaid is in the room doing handouts and photos etc for 2 hours for 4 30 minute intervals. Then, we'd have a break at the same time, then we'd switch. (all though I settled for that, I wanted us both in the water because of all the kids they're cramming in). They just can't make that work and I get the sense they registered people and advertised the schedule long before we saw it. I've actually cried over frustration from this.

The way we had it this morning one mermaid would be stuck for 6 hours in the water with a half hour break in between, and one stuck in the room staggered so she started later and ended later for 6 hours with the small break inbetween. Non stop flow of large amounts of kids.

I finally got it so we're doing 45 minute intervals but they're still staggering when we each start, and the breaks are so stupid. She starts at 12, I dont even start til 1245, then I don't get an actual break until almost 3 hours in and it's 20 minutes. You think I can get out of that pool unnoticed, change, pee, eat, get back in my stuff and make it upstairs to be waiting for the next 3 hours? We're separated the whole time and in order for her to get a break we had to overlap one of the sessions so I do half of it in the water, she comes in takes over for half, then takes a break, then gets back in water for hours... I don't know if I am explaining it well. I keep trying to give them more reasonable solutions and we only have 5 minutes for each transition time and I think it's just one of those things, they don't know what goes into it, so they have no idea.

Also it doesnt look like they're going to cover the meals we need. Only one breakfast. but we'll need two dinners and a lunch so I think I am covering that. So basically I am paying what I get paid, to cover meals and probably a bit of what sean gets paid too.

I have been trying for months to get this thing organized I am just so stressed out because I know the way it's set up I am going to feel unwell. I know my own physical limits. I know swimming for 3 hours and then taking a 20 minute break before hopping in tail (most of it which will be spent putting tail on and off) will not be enough. But I feel like I am beating my head against a brick wall trying to get these people to understand and accommodate. And really, the event is just a little over a day away so at this point we just gotta do what we can do.

On the more positive end of things I've got 5 monofins for the girls to try out and 5 tails. We filled up two treasure boxes with assorted handouts, and got our photos back in time that we'll be signing and giving out.

it's going to take us about 4 hours to drive there at night after my other mermaid's day job, so we crash, wake up, do this all day, and drive home saturday night. I am expecting to sleep a lot sunday, but i'll eventually get some photos and videos up.

I really believe in the cause, but I think that's the problem. I am always ending up in situations like this for charity or non profit events where I give a discounted rate and I feel like they feel entitled to more. I tried everything I could to enforce a contract and all that jazz. I don't think I want to do something like this again. It's too much work, sacrifice, stress, and hard on us.

But, I do hope we can make a difference for the girls. I complain now but I am sure when we drive home Saturday night I'll be all abuzz. If we make some kids happy, inspire them, and leave them with a good memory then I'm sure it'll be all worth it. I've just had a pretty rough week...

[PearlieMae]

Once you live through this, make it very clear to all these people how badly planned everything was. They need to know!

Also, do you have a link where we can donate cash, so maybe you can at least break even?

[AniaR]

Yes believe me, I think they are just ignorant. We're well known here. We get a lot of media here. So people know what we're worth and know our skills and they have a visual reference for what it takes to hire us and how things go down. I think once they SEE us and see how much is involved and how things work they will be shocked.

I have worked so hard to avoid these situations in the past few years. I used to get in them all the time because I believe in causes and I want to keep my integrity and support them. But the reality is I am running a business not a charity and I can't keep up. We usually have a very set amount of what we do and who we do it for per year. Children's charities, and wildlife charities. We did take a vote on this as a company and decide to go for it but I really doubt I'll be doing anything like this again.

We don't need exposure. We have more than most. We just believe in the cause and want to empower little girls. But my goodness yes I'll be letting them know...

I REALLY APPRECIATE everything the mer-community has done for me for this gig. You're all helping me help these girls. It's like this big realization of everything our company stands for and what I personally believe in. I don't expect people to send money in the slightest. I got myself into this mess I kinda gotta take my medicine you know? You'd think after all these years as a pro mermaid I'd learned how to spot these things but all I can say is it's very easy for people on the outside to say "oh I wouldn't stand for that" (as many have been telling me this week) and a whole other kettle of fish and be in the middle of "I believe in this and want to support it so much but they are leeching me dry!"

What it comes down to is I don't wanna let any kids down. It's been covered in the media. And people did donate things to me (like the fins etc) and I want to be sure the kids get that benefit.

If people wanted to chip in 5$ or something (your USD is worth so much more than CAD right now. Almost 1.20 CAD) to help me cover some of these costs it is appreciated, but I know everyone is in the same sort of boat with finances. I hate asking for money from the mer community because I know no one has any. lol we are all scrounging so we can live our dreams and here I just came back from a big trip it looks pretty hypocritical of me.

[Mermaid Wesley]

I'll send a little money over, Raina, I couldn't contribute tails but I still want to send something. It is a great cause and you overwork yourself. *mer love*


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[Mermaid Galene]

I'm going to contribute again, Raina. Was gonna do it earlier in the week, but have been thwumped by the huge prednisone dose I have to take to treat my bizarro ear ailment.

You are a trooper, and a mentor to a new generation of strong women-to-be! I'm glad to be able to help you with that.

[Mermaid Galene]

And... done. :)

[AniaR]

Thanks everyone!! We arrived after driving almost 5 hours. Snow was bad. Its so cold omg lol

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t31.0-8/s960x960/10865694_1541867196091658_7391066050718858847_o.jp g?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9

[Moongazer]

Some money has been sent your way to help this cause! I know all this stress will be more then worth it for these little girls!

[AniaR]

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/1518760_1541878942757150_5744582252908506656_o.jpg ?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9


Thank you Jamie!!! Thanks everyone!!!

[PearlieMae]

you know I love you, but living in Canada is just insane.

[AniaR]

We survived. Omg exhausted and starving. Getting supper before 4 hour drive home. Probably get home sunday morning. It went well but they trashed our kids tails :( update u later!!!

[Mermaid Galene]

It's behind you! yay! Hope you get a little recovery time.

[AniaR]

Okay, just had the best sleep ever!!! Time for the recap!!!

So we headed on the drive around 6ish. The temp plummeted to -35C (-31f) over the course of the weekend. I wasn't surprised. We did the whole drive with ice on the inside of the windows. I found out from sitting in the back seat that our door was leaky and I had to wear full parka + snow pants and a blanket + mitts + the heat on to stay warm! Was a long 5 hours lol. There were lots of snow squalls along the way so it made driving there pretty slow.

We arrived at the "hotel" which turned out to be more of a motel, lol. Really tiny, two beds, bathroom, but it did the trick. We were pretty freaking cold and it took the room a while to warm up, so naturally we did this...

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10427364_887011331330324_6252581232656937183_n.jpg ?oh=1484bc542e05ecab7796375fd63e27d0&oe=556AD0C1

I set to work organizing things for the morning, signing photos, while Mutiny fixed up her tail. We recently found out that NO supplier carries the LARGE shell sequins that her tail was made with. We contacted the place they were from before and they were selling them but we just recently contacted them to buy and they no longer have anyone making them. The next size down is considerably smaller ugh. So Mutiny has been hashing it out by moving some scales around, and sewing on smaller scales too. When she was done that she had to sign photos too.

The internet didn't work and we got all of 1 channel on the TV which was kinda funny. We all crashed closed to 1am after getting everything organized, and then were up bright and early for breakfast.

I felt super sick when I woke up and even sicker after breakfast. I've been fighting some sort of stomach thing, so it was off to the drug store for electrolyte drinks and stomach meds. I ended up pretty bloated looking in the photos and I'm fairly sure that's why.

We got to the center, it was a bit smaller than I was expecting from looking online. We'd been told just the night before we'd have access to the entire family change room but that was no longer the case. We ended up taking over the lifeguard storage area (which was super cold) and making mad dashes between it and the bathroom hoping no one saw us.

We surveyed the area. The large pool was salt water, big, lots of natural light, and amazing. the kid's pool was smaller, bromine, smelled a little strong but was still nicer than anything we had back home. The upstairs area where we'd be taking turns sitting, visiting, posing for pics, and handing out treasures was super cute. They had a nail painting station, a coloring station (complete with mermaid coloring pages), a bouncy castle, and a snack station. Then they had tarped all the windows so the light was blue, and had projected beach scenes on to the wall and set up a space for us to sit. They also had a smart board playing this youtube compilation fan made video of me. It was kinda surreal. Super super old videos of me, my sister, some weeki mers, and raven? lol. (I convinced them later to play a newer video, lol)

So we got ready to start.

Mutiny was starting before me with the ages 3-4 group up in that room. So up she went in a wheelchair, kind of adorable.

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/988933_415831971900003_5990072520339872553_n.jpg?o h=bd42316cdc8fdf9ec5e0e9a6bf36080e&oe=552091C3

While she was up there with the first group I warmed up downstairs in the big pool. Sean hopped in to take some gopro footage of me (I'll have that online later) and I really enjoyed warming up in a salt water pool.

Then it was time for my to hop into the little pool. I laid out all the monofins we have and all the tails we have. Big thanks to mermaid mimi and mermaid jamie who made all the tails, and to drake who donated 2 monofins, and for everyone who donated a little bit of $$ so I could pay for the materials for the tails Mimi made, and for the other 3 monofins we bought. The girls were ECSTATIC!

So I went over the rules of using the gear and told Parents this age level should be wearing life jackets. One mom told me her daughter was a good swimmer and she no sooner put the fin on and sank right to the bottom -_- It was a bit of a scare and I got to her before the lifeguard and with the help of another parent Pulled her up. She was upset and shaken so I put her on the edge of the pool, got her a lifejacket, gave her a hug and talked to her for a bit. She was happy to jump back in with a lifejacket once she felt better. It just sucked because it was literally the first 5 seconds of the first group. Gets your adrenaline going kinda hard to calm down.

That first group was awesome. We swam for 45 minutes, they were so cute and just so happy. I got so many hugs and smiley faces and compliments from parents. The parents were super attentive. We did a big group photo at the end and then in came the 4-6 age group. Pretty much a repeat of the first group. Super awesome.

I did the third group to start and then Mutiny took over so I could have a 20 minute break. I took my tail off, crammed some light food in me and loads to drink, walked around and stretched, washed my hair, and then got ready to go again.

I headed upstairs for 3 mire 45 minute sessions with kids. I met with them individually and these were all older kids. They chose treasures from our chest (pirate eye patches, different types of bracelets and hair clips, tattoos and stickers, mermaid hair, gem stones, shells) I gave them a signed photo, posed for individual photos, and did group photos.

While I was doing that, Mutiny was downstairs in the pool with older kids. She worked hard, some kids were in the little pool some in the big. They needed more lifeguards, and we really should of had more mermaids. I guess there were a few kids with behavioural things, and they started pulling off her scales until her merwrangler stepped in. Also, they totally TRASHED our fabric tails which is heart breaking to me. :( You expect some wear and tear but they def trashed some to the point of not being able to fix em up again. I think we'd need two mermaids for older groups next time. One in the little pool one in the big. It's hard for one mermaid to police the usage of the stuff and encourage respect of the gear with that many kids.

I'm proud of mutiny though, she did her best :) and having her husband as a merwrangler was super helpful.

So by now it's been almost 6 hours. I have finished upstairs with the kids so Sean wheeled me down. For the final group of older kids (many who brought their own tails) I hit the little pool and Mutiny stayed in the big pol with the underwater cameras. This group was a bit tricky. I let them use the fins and tails but I honestly didnt see any who I felt safe enough to let them go outside the small pool. Some parents got mad I wouldn't let their kids go in the deep pool with the gear but I just kept thinking I didn't want that on my shoulders. So they could be mad. The last group was more independent. I felt like I was more there for show. They wanted to use the gear and just occasionally talked to me lol.

We finished up with a big group photo, got some photos with the staff, and then packed up and waited around for our chance to use the showers.

The staff told me they loved it and wanted to have us back again. I told them for what we offered just this time, we'd have to charge way more and they should be looking at getting sponsors. They agreed. I also said we'd likely need more mermaids and split it up between two days so it would be a bit more that way too. They asked me for feedback so I gave it haha.

I'm going to do up an email for it, on pearlie's suggestion, but also their request.

I think it went as good as it could for the way it was set up. Things to change for next year:

-split the days, half the group one day, half the group the next
-community vollunteers
-more mermaids (at LEAST one more if not two) so we have one in each pool
-closer hotel, stay for two nights
-them cover the total cost of tails and fins since the gig pretty much destroys them
-more lifeguards
-clearer rules to parents (I do think they tried to do this, but we ended up enforcing it a lot on our own)
-cover all our meals
-more pay for us, like by a lot. We charged 400$ which meant we each got 100$ for 6 hours+ of work and the cost of materials and food. Even for 4 people for one day charging 1000 only sees us each getting 250 for a day of work + everything else. So I am thinking 2-3000 for a weekend with 5-6 people, and them covering the cost of the materials. We'd help them obtain sponsorship as well.

I want to say a HUGE thank you to those of you who donated along the way. You helped me cover the many expenses. Also, these last few days those of you who sent money helped me pay for all our food which I super super super appreciated. I did not want my other mermaid to be paying for her and her husband's food out of their pay money when they had generously offered to do it for so low a pay. I think as the boss it's my responsibility to take that hit. But I'll admit it was super stressing me out. I have a lot of unexpected but necessary expenses this month including 500$ for oral surgery. YOU MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE FOR US. It actually made us super teary. I was able to break even for the most part, and buy our food. We had a nice dinner before returning home last night. I just cant even express how much it meant to us. <3

We have already been swarmed with positive feedback on FB. Loads of happy families leaving us wonderful messages. <3

It is going to take a while to go through all the photos and video but I have a couple up I can show you:

Our youngest participant who cried anytime she was taken away from the mermaids...

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10924172_415832631899937_4406275889996696587_o.jpg

Mutiny meets 1:1 with a little girl

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10923552_788711977843331_5857888757102698274_n.jpg ?oh=30fdd3ba50b7fa4efd95900c2cfcae30&oe=552CFFD7

Mutiny and I took a stretch after the 6+ hours

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/t31.0-8/10636420_887509114613879_3104669148388079443_o.jpg



I'll be working on the photos today and the videos. So I'll be sure to upload em and post a link here. I am also going to do a big blog post about it and I'd like to link to and thank individuals who made donations and helped make this work. The only thing is the way paypal is and the amount of money people sent- I can't tell which was for this and which was people buying workshops LOL. So please, dont feel shy about IDENTIFYING YOURSELF in this thread and showing me where you'd like me to link to~ our website gets loads of traffic- let me send some your way <3 <3 <3

[AniaR]

Here's a sweet girl in one of the tails Jamie donated.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10418972_416026801880520_3138300359431332462_n.jpg ?oh=1fbe42eb742ef73e55b75109a8de06c2&oe=556B86DF&__gda__=1433200999_7480057d67807edc458f9cf15a34ae7 e

Heres two girls (look at their shirts!) in tails I commissioned from Mimi

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10676198_887737281257729_3237237666346771030_n.jpg ?oh=98f7ca691e0023a6b3be02c942ae73f6&oe=55659472&__gda__=1428793802_b680aee2fdf6b984a31c1ada68cd24b 3

[Mermaid Ciela]

Hi Raina, I saw something about this on your facebook page and only just saw this thread. Would it be okay if I sent you a donation now, after the fact? I love that you went to all that trouble to support such a great cause but totally feel for all of the struggles you and Mutiny faced, so I'd be happy to help you out a bit if I could. I'll check out the link you posted a while back and donate through there!


Sent from the engineering wonder that is my shellphone using Tapatalk

[Mermaid Galene]

Thanks for sharing the details! Really fun to read. For such a massive undertaking, it sounds like it went really well. Congratulations, and glad I could help!

[AniaR]

Thank you so so so so much!!!! :swoon::hug:

Here's another shot!

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t31.0-8/10495295_416035975212936_3430775997975214707_o.jpg

[Merman Arion]

Hi Raina, I saw something about this on your facebook page and only just saw this thread. Would it be okay if I sent you a donation now, after the fact? I love that you went to all that trouble to support such a great cause but totally feel for all of the struggles you and Mutiny faced, so I'd be happy to help you out a bit if I could. I'll check out the link you posted a while back and donate through there!

I just donated. I apologize for being late.

[AniaR]

Under "contact us" on www.halifaxmermaids.com at the very bottom is a "leave a tip" button people can use :) thanks everyone!

Here are about 1/2 the photos. Mutiny has the other half and they'll be uploaded later. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.416060851877115.1073741830.342653429217858&type=1

Some of my favs, mostly all unedited:

I was mainly with the younger smaller groups.

One little girl gets super happy after touching the tail

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/t31.0-8/10923777_416061328543734_5198396381816746473_o.jpg

The setup upstairs:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10842046_416060895210444_2482121293851766348_o.jpg

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t31.0-8/10900134_416060965210437_5253921506344881267_o.jpg


Getting everything organized when the first little girl wandered out

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/1553125_416061098543757_2719477741974564286_o.jpg


Getting a hug

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t31.0-8/1614467_416061771877023_7886321228805238236_o.jpg

too cute

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10428686_416061968543670_4129095260429232522_n.jpg ?oh=1d4ff2fcc57dedcc747fe32d3f99be84&oe=552A1381

Getting ready to try a monofin

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10915081_416062075210326_7173526232234230463_o.jpg

High fiving the little girl who had fallen in earlier but was brave enough to try again

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t31.0-8/10669145_416062278543639_9211957413080780332_o.jpg

Pleased as punch

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10329171_416062385210295_5277087964344973894_n.jpg ?oh=9fff357fe9c042a0ca3c9318bb54a2ac&oe=555FF6B9&__gda__=1432704048_99e1f59decdf801f865ca4d6eb4d347 f


Asking her about feet

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t31.0-8/10845830_416062665210267_5161466428475869952_o.jpg

Trying out the fin with a little help

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10854912_416063068543560_6908240463290640941_o.jpg

Making a splash with the tots

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/10644288_416063228543544_5297808400384690087_o.jpg

real cuties

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10841850_416063275210206_3642580188095907648_o.jpg

ready to get in

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/t31.0-8/10900217_416063365210197_6932926077359214054_o.jpg

going over the rules with a new group

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10911253_416063578543509_4247484498272321003_o.jpg

happy trying on tails

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/t31.0-8/10499615_416064608543406_6943078623147384669_o.jpg

too cute

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10818353_416064655210068_8162892406522023487_o.jpg

going for rides

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10911252_416065001876700_5060497954796756176_o.jpg

we had the odd little boy who was a sibling come, here is one saying "whooaa!"

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10904508_416065271876673_614740099049527255_o.jpg

keeping the mermaid wet, lol

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10903818_416065385209995_8486835785863990379_o.jpg

happy swimmer

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10917043_416065455209988_5044933584964070825_n.jpg ?oh=13cce67d1efe5ade18e4738f8e587023&oe=55212B3D

having a splash

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10848649_416065591876641_1278124008611476588_o.jpg

A whole pod of merlings

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10924139_416065961876604_5388155173810237122_o.jpg

doubled up hehe

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t31.0-8/1618105_416066231876577_7130111617153191845_o.jpg

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t31.0-8/1518468_416066311876569_2729145740264698696_o.jpg

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t31.0-8/1888881_416066458543221_6096653366596469220_o.jpg

Soooo happy

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10854868_416066515209882_5674450504050850696_o.jpg

group hug!

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10926301_416067445209789_8327620483058914588_o.jpg

Another cute group

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10924225_416067525209781_6682261289301467115_o.jpg

fish lips!!!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/t31.0-8/10943805_416067765209757_7597091360725336812_o.jpg

more girls, ready and waiting...

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/t31.0-8/10931707_416067985209735_7999902630585821879_o.jpg

time for a swim by!

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/10469165_416067978543069_2042304186796195054_o.jpg

cuties

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10911280_416068331876367_5331057062136638295_o.jpg

handing out treasures

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t31.0-8/10917230_416068708542996_8370121626066893330_o.jpg

Under da sea

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/t31.0-8/905894_416069095209624_7375535077068650974_o.jpg

say "sea weed!"

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t31.0-8/1501355_416069945209539_4452689625343502659_o.jpg

don't you wanna go to the beach? ;)

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/10917245_416070148542852_2379243200632241562_o.jpg

looking for treasure

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/t31.0-8/10917201_416070231876177_309997554861285296_o.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t31.0-8/10904067_416070248542842_5706902950082763221_o.jpg

one of my favourite shots!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10887167_416070258542841_7731279407970494346_o.jpg

lots of colouring

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10919437_416070521876148_6236210466018645234_o.jpg

more kids lined up and waiting

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/553328_416070541876146_4396681448990347110_n.jpg?o h=a0492058a1d16d6ca0325e15dbecb05d&oe=555E237C

watching from above

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/t31.0-8/10924632_416070568542810_1734735383501245340_o.jpg

my eldest fan who came out, we met her once before at a hotel over a year ago she was too cute. brought her own finfun tail

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/1511121_416071058542761_1355906159631606458_n.jpg? oh=4c1441910beef560c3e9b580722455eb&oe=55678441&__gda__=1428989969_c449af1b9deba7b2abef13803bd9210 b

with a cute little family

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10930892_416071188542748_708894810912005095_n.jpg? oh=929b2261d85ba2dd2a38943fe194b242&oe=552BB759

this baby loved mermaids

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/1505569_416071225209411_8133853627841488953_n.jpg? oh=f14d0a4750519c1494350ff609237e00&oe=5526DC89

trying to decide between the pools

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10496057_416071545209379_3814666452241540800_o.jpg

going over rules

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t31.0-8/10931637_416071621876038_5280034602096248994_o.jpg

yay baby

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/t31.0-8/10911235_416072368542630_9042149144899471052_o.jpg

underwater camera fun

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t31.0-8/10899981_416072838542583_138488031547908955_o.jpg

Sean doing the usual... lol

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t31.0-8/10904037_416072948542572_5094903505656545621_o.jpg

wooo

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/1504388_416072995209234_560062458138286595_o.jpg

fish face!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/t31.0-8/10943795_416073105209223_5875577238461409851_o.jpg

fins up!

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t31.0-8/10915093_416073331875867_9086277314857496951_o.jpg

our buddy

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10847651_416073501875850_6505711437162975802_o.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10856679_416073845209149_3895929750408219324_o.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t31.0-8/10903971_416073891875811_7020101978052903895_o.jpg

After 6+ hours we were pretty tired hehe

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/t31.0-8/10929070_416074035209130_8686340954232356546_o.jpg

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

Im sorry it was so stressful for you guys! But at least its over, and im not 100% on this but you might be able to get a tax write off for the difference between what you got paid and what you would normally charge. Technically its a charitable donation. Im not sure of the laws out there on the subject but its worth checking into.

Too bad the tails didnt last or that some arent fixable. But those happy faces are wonderful to see! Im glad I could help a lil bit. :) glad you feel better after a much needed sleep!

[MerEmma]

What a beautiful gig--I'm so happy for all those girls who got to participate. They did a great job of setting up the blue room too; it looks so peaceful in front of the projection. I hope next year goes even more successfully! I think you did a wonderful job with all of them. :)

Just curious, was there any particular reason all the little girls wore swim caps? I haven't seen that many swim caps anywhere but swim meets, haha. :P

[AniaR]

Im not sure I think it was pool policy cuz everyone but us had them

[MerEmma]

Huh, that's kind of a weird policy. Guess the mermaids get an exception. :P

[QueenZero]

:mermaid kiss::mermaid kiss::mermaid kiss::mermaid kiss:
You go, Raina, Mutiny, Merwranglers! Those kids look so happy. Hopefully next time the whole thing will be easier on the mers.

[AniaR]

The radio interview we gave is up. Of course you talk for an hour and only little clips make it in. They made two mistakes, while Mutiny and I both have degrees from the same school she doesnt have the same as me and is actually higher level, lol. Also our education workshops aren't next month, they're in March. http://tinyurl.com/lump28q
Scroll to 22:56 for the clip.

[AniaR]

Video 1 is up, see more soon


http://youtu.be/dNYpoxbgszE

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Awww, so awesome!

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

All the feels!
Thats a wonderful video.

[AniaR]

I strongly believe that mermaid swimming is a powerful tool to help young girls everywhere. Girls do not experience physical fitness in society in the same way that boys do. More and more studies are showing the need to encourage girls in physical fitness and help them overcome issues of body image and societal perception. Last year our company worked an amazing workshop for Girl's Empowerment. The mermaid community helped make that happen. We are doing it again in 2016, and we'd love your help. Please take a minute to read the info in this thread. We'd love your help to make a difference for young girls! http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?12237-Help-us-again-with-helping-young-girls&p=225178#post225178