This month marked the 10-year anniversary of a tragic car accident that took the lives of three little girls from Floral Park, sisters Emma, Alyson and Katie Hance, ages 8, 7 and 5 years old respectively. While the July 26, 2009 Taconic State Parkway accident was highly publicized, many may not be aware that the girls’ parents, Warren and Jackie Hance, in the midst of their grief, established the Hance Family Foundation in honor of their daughters’ memories. The foundation has helped empower tens of thousands of females of all ages around the world.
Beautiful Me program. Photo courtesy of Hance Family Foundation.
The Self-Esteem Rising Programs
The mission of the non-profit Hance Family Foundation, as stated by Warren and Jackie Hance on the organization’s website, is “to honor the lives of our three beautiful girls by sharing our innovative self-esteem educational programming. We have chosen to focus on how our daughters lived, rather than how they died.” Some of the ways the foundation carries out this mission is by bringing its unique and inspiring suite of Self-Esteem Rising programs to girls and women.
Beautiful Me with consultant, Shanthy Hughes. Photo courtesy of Hance Family Foundation.
Self-Esteem Rising programs are designed to help girls and women have higher levels of self-esteem, personal happiness and confidence. The programs share lessons of love and self-worth and include:
Beautiful Me - A free self-esteem curriculum offered to females of all ages.
Raising a Beautiful Child – A seminar for helping parents, educators and caregivers learn practical strategies and methods that will help them activate self-esteem in the children they care for.
Empower Me – A program designed for corporations and colleges that focuses on providing women the self-esteem tools necessary to find personal and professional success.
Beautiful Me program. Photo courtesty of Hance Family Foundation.
Beautiful Me at the University of Southern California. Photo courtesy of Hance Family Foundation.
The programs are brought to schools, community sites, hospitals, colleges and private companies. To date, Self-Esteem Rising has had more than 60,000 participants across the globe, impacting lives as far as New Zealand.
On the foundation’s website, Warren Hance says, “Our foundation started in tragedy, but sadness and loss are not what we are about. We are about hope & optimism.”
Beautiful Me at Davidson Kempner with students from PS/IS 266. Photo courtesy of Hance Family Foundation.
In a recent Hance Family Foundation press release, Warren and Jackie Hance expressed their gratitude to the local community for their love and support. They said, “This foundation started because people surrounded our family — literally and figuratively — since July 26, 2009. Friends and strangers have allowed us to focus on the good in this world. A path has been carved that enables Emma, Alyson and Katie to still make an impact on others daily.”
The Hance Family Foundation, headquartered in Floral Park, NY, continues its expansion worldwide. If you would like more information about the foundation visit HanceFamilyFoundation.org. To learn how to bring Self-Esteem Rising programs to your school, business or community visit SelfEsteemRising.org.
