Dinosaurs and Pixie Dust was lucky enough to have a chat with Miranda Bryant, the Executive Director of Princesses with a Purpose. Don't know what that is? You soon will!
Princesses with a Purpose is an organization that makes children and adults believe in magic.
The very Princesses we all grew up loving and believing in, become real as Princesses with a Purpose sends out the lovable storybook Princesses to spend time with anyone who needs something to believe in.
But it's not all Princesses! They have pirates and pixies and superheroes and more! The very characters that inspire all sorts of people that life is worth living.
And now, a chat with Miranda Bryant:
1) When and how did the organization start?
Once Upon A Time....
PWAP began on a cold, autumn night in November of 2011, when Kaci Pedersen and Miranda Bryant put their heads together to create an organization like no other... One that made children and adults both believe in Magic.
When visiting their first Hospital, a beautiful Princess by the name of Cassidy told the little mermaid that she was her hero. That no matter what, she had given her the courage to fight cancer. That was PWAP's first "AH HA" moment.
The second was when Callie Cheer of Atlanta (Acute myeloid leukemia, M7) told Rapunzel, "You gave me the courage to give up my hair too." After witnessing such BRAVE young girls, it became apparent that THIS was exactly what the world needed. Not any more diva's or pop stars... but ROLE MODELS.
2) What inspired this FairyTale themed project?
Our inspiration came from within our own hearts. I (Miranda) had played Belle in Beauty and the Beast in 2010. The show was a huge success, allowing us to raise money and preform over 20 shows during it's run. I loved the feel of being in character and the way the children ran up to me and hugged me at the end of each show. Pretty soon, I was getting requests for Birthday Parties and my schedule was filling up fast! Kaci came to me a few months later and her love for Disney and princesses seemed to match mine, along with her love for children. We both were avid volunteers and wanted to inspire other teenagers to get involved with volunteering as well.
3) What characters do you currently have working?
Our characters are very important part of our organization! We have all 11 princesses, a few super-heroes, princes, fairies, and few other storybook favorites such as Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland.
4) Has Disney known or reacted to the organization?
Here comes the tricky Part of owning a character-based business. No, we are NOT affiliated with The Walt Disney World Company in any way. HOWEVER, they are well awhere that we exist. How do I know this? Because we currently even have a few cast members that are or have worked for the Mouse.
Disney knows EVERYTHING. Before you start this kind of business, you HAVE to do your homework. This means we can not step on Disney's turf to assure that we ourselves do not get sued. We can not use character names such as "Ariel" because she is a copyrighted character under the WDW Association. However, we can use the name The Little Mermaid, because she is an original Fairy Tale name given by Hans Christian Anderson. Her copyright ran out after 75 years, allowing us to use that name. It's complicated, we know. Does it kill the magic to use names like, Sleeping Beauty or Highland Princess? Not really. Most children can't even tell the difference.
But staying true to the original Fairy tale names keeps us safe in the watchful eye of the Mouse.
5) What does it feel like when a child sees his or her favorite character?
The feeling is incredible. I can't even begin to tell you what it is like to have a child run into your arms and look at you with glistening eyes. Their world is full of wonder and excitement, beauty and magic. It's astounding to know that you are a part of making that magic REAL. I do have the best job in the world, and not because I'm always in character; but because I can share this magnificent feeling and give other young adults the opportunity to feel this same way.
6) Do you think "Princesses with a Purpose" will continue to expand and never stop?
I truly believe in my heart that PWAP will continue to Blossom and grow strong. What we have in our organization is magic. It's beautiful and exciting and has open arms for other organizations as well. We love fundraising and we love visiting children in hospitals, cancer centers, or in their homes. We want to continue to share goodness, light, magic and HOPE, not only to children, but to young adults as well as we continue to reach out into the community and encourage others to volunteer.
7) Where do you get your amazing costumes and hair done?
Oh the costumes and hair question! This is actually allot trickier then you'd think it is! Costumes are planned out by our board of directors. We discuss what costumes we need, want and what they need to look like. We go to the drawing board and go at it! Lots of doodles and planning are put into this. Next, we commission a seamstress. We have several costumes made by an amazing cast member, Sarah Stitt (Owner of Sarah's Stache). We also are a part of a somewhat secret group of Princesses that are on a Q&A board. We can also commission from there. We love them and we have all become very close friends. I think there's about 150 people from across the world, all having something to do with Princessing. We give each other advice, help with costume ideas, commission and its a great place to figure out princess problems!
As for wigs, again, we can commission from the group or I can style the wigs. And yes, we are a stickler for wigs. Natural hair is pretty, but wigs add consistency and keep the magic alive when a certain character is played by 10 different people. We have moved to where all of our female characters are wigged. If I come to a problem with styling, then I take the wig to a wigmaster.
8) How is that hospitals, offices etc. allow a group of costumed strangers into a sick child's room?
It's all about how you present yourself. We are professionals, so we present ourselves in the most professional way possible. In this business I have come to learn something: It's not about what you know, but WHO you know. That's how we got our foot in the door with Eggleston Children's Hospital and the AFLAC Cancer Center, a part of EMORY Hospital. It is part of the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta: A system of 4 children's hospitals based in the greater Atlanta area. Once we got into there, the rest is history!
9) From my understanding, there is nothing you won't do for a child; Is this true?
For the most part, this is true. We believe all children deserve a chance at magic, no matter what the cost! We want to buy a service dog for a child in need of one. That is our goal for the next year. These dogs can cost up to $20,000. We have a cast member named Brandi who has a service dog named Shanti (Like from the jungle book!) and Shanti has become every much a part of our cast as her owner Brandi is. Through getting to know Shanti, our board has become passionate about learning what service dogs really are. First, they are not just for the blind. In fact, Shanti is a diabetic alert dog. She warns Brandi if her sugar is high or if it drops to low because she can't feel it anymore. She could go into a diabetic coma and die with out these warnings. Who knew diabetes was so dangerous?! I didn't before we met Brandi. And we want to give other children the opportunity to have a wonderful companion and best friend along with being safe like Shanti and Brandi are.
10) Do you all love what you do as much as others love what you are doing?
I DO! I think I can answer for all of us that this is the best job in the entire world. It kinda feels like we carry a part of Neverland with us at all times. We never really grow up! We love to play dress up, but also bring joy and smiles to children at the same time. We are fulfilling our childhood dreams of being princesses and fairy tale characters while also making children's dreams come true as well!
I love my job... if that's really what you would call it. It's a full time kinda thing, but I enjoy it. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still have to do paperwork. Theres a lot of that, don't be fooled! All businesses have a desk job, overhead and paperwork as well. But I do enjoy it. Although the dressing up is a blast, Ive come to love watching behind the scenes as well. To stand in the shadows and watch a group of young adults under the age of 25, dressed in costume making children smile.... and doing it for no pay.
That is Magic, and I get to live that everyday. Yes, I love what I do, and I wouldn't change it for the world.
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Thank you so much, "Princesses with a Purpose" for answering our questions!
Now, if anyone doesn't believe in the magic yet please look below.
Spread the hope.
Spread the magic.
Princesses with a Purpose
