50 fierce over-50 women collaborate to launch global campaign

Today, February 19^th, I am honoured to be part of a movement with over 50 “over-50 bloggers” around the world to launch the first Fierce Over-50 Campaign on the 50th day of the year. Brainchild of the beautiful Catherine  McCormick (catherinegraceo.com), we want  to begin shifting a worldwide perception of this demographic in today’s world. A celebration of our new lives in this new middle age, this midlife we are embracing is not the same as our mothers experienced. In some ways, it is easier, as I believe we have been able to look after ourselves better. In some ways, it has been more difficult, as many of us struggled to find a work-family-life balance.

One of the aims of this campaign has been to connect over-50 bloggers, another aim is to make brands and magazines sit up and take notice of us. We are living for longer and the over-50 population continues to grow, so why have we become invisible?

We may not have youth on our sides anymore, but we are not dead yet and we have more spending power than we ever had.

This campaign is about women supporting women and as the only participating Irish over-50 blogger presently, I welcome all of you to support the movement.

Strong Women

Ireland has a history of  notably strong women. For instance, both Maud Gonne and Countess Markievicz were forces of nature well into their later years; we have had two wonderfully strong and fierce women presidents: the two Marys (Robinson and McAleese) who are still creating waves; @norahcasey is a powerhouse in the publishing world; Lorna Brittain and Helen Fox @moyridingcentresummerhill have made beautiful ripples as older fashion models and Celia @holmanleeagency has blazed a trail in fashion styling and much more.

My Blogger Partner

There are many wonderful women in this campaign and I am delighted to have been paired with Leigh Anne Wilkes, all the way from Portland, Oregon. When she visited Ireland several years ago, she said it looked very much like home. I think she was talking about the rain!

It has been fun, in a relatively short time, getting to know Leigh Anne.  Married to Jim, mother of four grown-up children, she decided to become a stay-at-home mum when her first son was born. As well as creating a beautiful, happy home, with family meals a priority, she ran various types of home-based businesses, until finally over nine years ago she set up her blog www.yourhomebasedmom.com   Have a look; you will not be disappointed.

She wanted to share what she enjoyed: creating treats and meals, running a home, gardening, entertaining and party planning (to touch on a few). Her site has over 2,400 recipes (I am looking forward to using some on my Supper Club girlfriends) so it is no surprise that her first cookbook will be published next October.

None of Leigh Anne’s children live in Oregon, but she enjoys travelling to visit them in Utah, California and New York.  We have much in common: a mutual love of good food and family meals, we value our friends and like entertaining (though she is on a totally different level) and we love reading.  But I was also struck by the coincidences. One of her two daughters is in the fashion Public Relations industry in New York and the other is a drama teacher in Utah. My eldest daughter also works in Public Relations and drama and singing are her passions, while the younger is a fashion stylist. And to cap it all off her eldest son’s name is Logan and our first grandson is also called Logan. What are the chances of that?

So here we are, two people from the western extremities of two different continents, connected by a desire to wake up the world to the idea that we are not dead yet, just because we are over-50. We are ready to take on new challenges and adventures.  Join us in the revolution!  Be fierce whatever your age.

This is already making waves in the US; you can read about it here:   with links also to the other bloggers involved in the campaign.

Get in Touch

If you have enjoyed reading this blog post and learning more about The Fierce 50 Campaign, please visit this page http://cgo.style/fierce50gals to see an archive where you will find each of the women that are participating in the campaign along with their blog posts. If you or someone you know is interested in either joining or supporting the movement, please contact info@catherinegraceo.com for more information. We have lots more planned for this year and beyond so, stay tuned everyone.

Sponsor List

Onzie @onzie www.onzie.com

Madison Reed @madisonreedllb  www.madison-reed.com

HSI Professional @hsiprofessional  www.hsiprofessional.com

Awe Inspired @aweinspired  www.aweinspired.com