By Rich Bockmann
A trio of Queens women were given the star treatment by Oprah Winfrey’s magazine in recognition of the good works they do in their communities.
Marjorie Bibbons, Angelina Alvarez-Davis and Erica Ford were featured in December’s issue of O Magazine in an article entitled “5 Gorgeous Makeovers — for Women Who Really Deserve Them.”
“It’s nice to be appreciated and it’s nice to be recognized for what I do,” said Bibbons a Queens village resident who is hard at work preparing her nonprofit, Healing Hands Helping Broken Hearts, to serve Christmas Day dinner to those in need.
“It’s nice that the word is out,” she added. “My thing is getting donations and passing stuff out to people in the community.”
The women were celebrated for going above and beyond to make a difference in their communities and spent two days being pampered for their photo shoots.
“A day of beauty — makeup, haircut and color, manicure, pedicure—is restorative. But a whole new beauty regimen can be revolutionary. We sent these five women home with tools they can use to continue pampering themselves,” the magazine wrote.
One photo spread shows Bibbons, 48, wearing an apron and jeans in her kitchen and spreading holiday cheer. The next page shows her transformed with her hair and makeup done and draped in a one-shoulder, green ABS by Allen Schwartz dress.
Bibbons said that while it was nice to be pampered for the day — she is back to her jeans and apron — the best part was the attention it brought to her cause.
“We’ve gotten a lot of coats and toys,” since the article ran, she said.
She will be serving dinner Christmas Day and handing out presents from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church, at 179-09 Jamaica Ave.
Alvarez-Davis was referred to O Magazine by Baby Buggy, the charity that provides her Head Start program in Far Rockaway with essentials like diapers, cribs and hampers.
The magazine highlighted her for her work helping to provide relief during Superstorm Sandy.
“After two days of them working on my hair and painting my nails, I was like, ‘Oh, my God! I feel like Dorothy in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” said Alvarez-Davis, a cancer survivor who runs her own support non-profit, Shootout Cancer, Inc., which uses sports to help raise funds for those battling the disease.
“People can help people on a personal level,” she said. “You don’t have to wait for the big organizations.”
Ford, who heads the anti-violence initiative LIFE Camp, could not be reached for comment.
Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
