would have told me to get over it and stop crying,” she laughs.
So while the bad days still happen, Lin did as her mother would
have wanted.
The Rita Langworthy Foundation, now coming up on close to a
year old, is going strong. The foundation grants funds to not only
underprivileged kids in terms of educational grants, but also to
educators for books and supplies. The foundation also aids in
supporting other direct service nonprofits that aid these children
by means of clothing, food, education, shelter, and medical help.
The foundation recently awarded six children with a one year
scholarship to attend private school.
The RLF will have its first large scale fundraiser, Butterflies
& Blues in New York City on October 17th, at BB Kings. This
inaugu ral debut will be an annual celebration.
In the one year anniversary of her mother’s death, Lin still is
coping with the loss of her mother and the fact that she won’t be
celebrating her 71st birthday with her, or seeing the Rockettes
at Christmas like her mother wanted, or be able to take her on
the Alaskan cruise she always dreamed of. Lin explains that her
mother wasn’t a materialistic person at all. There were only a few
things she talked about for her retirement. One was the cruise
and another, which still gets a chuckle out of Lin, was a purple
Jaguar. One of the regrets Lin still holds onto is not taking her
mother on an Alaskan cruise. Not letting the negative consume
her, Lin did something else. The logo and color theme for the
foundation is purple, which is symbolic of the Jaguar her mother
always talked about. The butterflies on the logo are symbolic as
well. The metamorphosis of her mother and her life’s work.
Lin also found comfort in getting tattooed. More specifically, a
purple butterfly close to her shoulder that directly represents
her mother. The piece incorporates butterflies and orchids
dancing, which represents the two of them. She is working on
another memorial piece she’ll be beginning soon at Sacred
Tattoo in NYC. Lin sees her ink as part of her and her life story,
a powerful statement filled with love.
Lin’s advice for readers when it comes to dealing with the
curveballs life throws and starting over? “Fail gloriously.” “Every
day you wake up, you get a second chance,” she continues.
Lin’s loss of her mother was something she harnessed to create
something beautiful out of tragedy.
To learn more or donate to the Rita Langworthy Foundation,
visit them at:
www.RitaLangworthyFoundation.org
And follow them on social media at:
www.Facebook.com/RitaLangworthyFoundation
Twitter: @RitaLFoundation
Instagram: @RitaLangworthyFoundation
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