Nearly 20 people every minute are physically abused by their partner in the United States, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. 


What You Need To Know

  • Sheryl Kurland and others pack lipsticks

  • Each box of lipstick go to domestic violence shelters

  • Discover more Everyday Heroes right here

For the men and women trying to leave violent relationships behind, many will turn to shelters for help getting back on their feet. 

Over in Seminole County, a unique nonprofit called Find Your Fabulosity is giving domestic violence victims a small piece of normalcy in the form of lipstick. 

Inside Sheryl Kurland’s home, a dedicated team of volunteers pack-up hundreds of lipsticks. Every box once filled to the top will head to domestic violence shelters and organizations around the country.

Kurland and her team have been doing this for years now but she said the idea came to her while speaking to a group of victims staying at the Safe House shelter in Seminole County.

“I realized I see beautiful women and they see themselves as hollow. I started thinking, ‘How can I make these women feel like women again?’ And growing up, my mom always said, ‘Sheryl, if you want to feel better, you put on a little lipstick’,” said Kurland, founder of Find Your Fabulosity

So she picked up some lipsticks for the women there and passed them out. 

“And then the room just completely lit up and the lipsticks were the magic," Kurland said. "It was like I took a magic wand and the pain in the room just disappeared."

In the five years since, her nonprofit Find Your Fabulosity has packed up and sent out 70,000 new lipsticks to domestic violence victims staying in more than 200-domestic violence shelters and organizations across the country. It is something small but can give the women escaping a violent situation a sense of normalcy.

“The lipstick just has a real power to it and for most women, it gives us an instant boost. But for them, it says, ‘I have an identity and I have a voice and I am beautiful inside and out,’” Kurland said. 

In the U.S., one in every four women will experience physical abuse or domestic violence of some kind in their lifetime, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.   

Kurland said she hopes in some small way, the lipsticks they send out to the women staying at shelters help show them someone out there cares, helping give them some extra courage as they start their lives over again. 

“I hope someday there’s never a need for them," Kurland said. "But as long as there is, we’re going to keep doing what we do."

Find Your Fabulosity is always accepting donations of new-in-box lipsticks to send out to women staying in domestic violence shelters around the country. If you would like to help, visit the organization here. ​