Modern Widow’s Club: Love Always

LOVE, ALWAYS was a Modern Widows Club fundraising event held at
East End Market (3201 Corrine Dr, Orlando, Florida 32803). The evening was a celebration of living a life full of love, always, all ways! I sketched the photo opportunity in the corner of the room where women in crowns could have their picture taken in front of the giant heart.

International Widows Day will be on June 23, 2018. Carolyn Caple Moor who founded the Modern Widows Club is raising money to help empower women who are often overlooked when their partner dies in our society.

Carolyn introduced herself to Isabella and Megan, both in their 20’s. 
They didn’t understand what the Modern Widow’s Club was, and said “Whaat?“. She said “It’s a nonprofit that
empowers a lot of young (and older) widows to thrive”. “Do you know what a widow is?” Carolyn asked, and they both said “Yes, a woman whose
husband has died”. she agreed and said “It can be a woman whose lost a
wife too”. They agreed.

Then, she said “Which of these ladies on this board do you think is the widow?” and they both really took their
time looking at each one. They both selected the older widows “Mary,
Mary and Bonnie”. I asked them why they selected those ladies and they
said “Because they look like grandmothers and a lot of grandmothers I
think would be widows”.

They are right. Of the 14 million
American widows, 66% are over 65 years old and may or may not be retired, but
34% are younger and under age 65. The average age is 59. Carolyn became a widow at age 37 and that her daughter Mackensey Moor
was only 4 years old when she lost her father.

That’s when
Isabella’s face completely changed because she realized that someone her
mom’s age could have become widowed and all widows are not grandmothers
like she thought. When Carolyn told her that every woman on the page was a
widow, she was quite shocked.

Thankfully, these two young ladies are now aware that as women,
education and information is so valuable. Megan said “Yeah, I would want
to know this if I was married and could prepare if anything happened”.
Right, because 70% of all wives will experience widowhood at some
point! We don’t know if it will be us or when. Let’s prepare this generation better than our own.