A group of women want to welcome together the ladies of Greater Rochester to celebrate each other’s triumphs and allow everyone to declare: "I'm still standing."
Tamesha Beckford said she was driving home from work when the song by Elton John came on the radio.
At that moment, she flashed back to moments of her life where she struggled through being a child abuse survivor, a domestic abuse survivor, and living as a single mom.
“I know a lot of women feel like, including myself, that ... nah, nobody wants to hear my story," Beckford said.
"Like I kept saying, ‘Oh man, you know this is really hard. This is really tough.’ However, I never really took time saying, ‘You know what? I overcame that. Yeah, that was hard, but I'm victorious over that now.’"
That’s why she decided to start the "I’m Still Standing" movement to encourage women to celebrate each other’s triumphs. Working together with her friends and former coworkers from a nonprofit, they planned an inaugural event where attendees can share their stories, network, and take a photo in matching I’m Still Standing T-shirts — cementing proof of what can be accomplished when women stand together.
Cassandra Ramos said that as soon as Beckford shared her aspirations, it click with her as well and resonated with her dedication to community outreach.
"When things — traumatic things — happen to us, it's really out of fear and shame we shut down, and we stop telling our stories and we feel alone," Ramos said.
With the event, she continued: "We want to celebrate, and we also want to let our sisters know that they're not alone, and they never will be as long as we're here."
The “I’m Still Standing” event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20 downtown at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park at Manhattan Square. The location has changed, as it initially was planned at Village Gate.
