The Welcome Party

Ladies, conference season is in full swing (have you gotten your ticket yet?) We are SO excited to tell you about what will be your first experience at the 2013 Influence Conference- the welcome party. We want to set the tone for a really awesome weekend. We want to do something to give back. We want to give you a place to come together, hug old friends and meet new people. We want to make sure both our introverts AND our extroverts feel super comfortable and loved on at the conference.

So we decided to start things off with a little coffee, a little dessert, and coming together as a group to give back. This year we are teaming up with SoleHope and kicking off the conference with a shoe cutting party. If you haven't heard of Sole Hope , they are an incredible organization who's mission is to offer HOPE to widows, orphans, and others within impoverished and forgotten communities around the world by teaching the simple trade of shoemaking which provides jobs and shoes to those in need. They are helping to solve the very real and very sad Jigger problem in Africa.

Watch the video below (be careful around little eyes!) to see a very graphic view into the issue many children and adults are facing in Africa.



The thought of these sweet little children with parasites eating away at their feet simply from lack of shoes and water is too terrible. As women of Influence we always say we want our online lives to mean something, but we want our offline lives to mean something as well. And we can't think of any better way to reach out than teaming up with Sole Hope and cutting shoes to send to these children. We are collecting old jeans and fabric for the party so feel free to bring some old pairs if you have them!

During the shoe cutting party the lovely and talented Reeve Cobbs (who will be leading our worship night) will be putting on a concert of her original music. Not only that, but Christopher Kincaid, the crazy talented husband of our very own Forum Manager, Rachael Kincaid, will be playing for us as well!

This is going to be such a low key and wonderful way to kick off the weekend. Meeting up with old friends, finally meeting that person you've been talking to online for.so.long, nibbling some yummy desserts, listening to some incredible music, and really stretching the social justice arm of Influence.

So make sure and purchase your ticket today...We can't wait to see you there!