BMW’s ‘Women Who Pay It 4Ward’ Lift Others As They Rise

On July 10, 2016, four Los Angeles-based renaissance women inspired an intimate crowd to pay it forward as they shared encouraging stories after accepting BMW’s “Women Who Pay It 4ward” Awards.

Angela “Stikks” Adams, model, speaker, author and creator of #ThisCanHelpSomeone; Rachel Buenviaje brand marketer at Nike; Lina Esco, an actress, filmmaker and creator of Free the Nipple Campaign; Tiffany Persons, founder and executive director of nonprofit organization, Shine On Sierra Leone and and Tiffany Company Casting were all recognized as women making professional and philanthropic impacts in the community.

“Paying it forward to me means doing acts of kindness to people all day long because you know they are going to do it to other people and it will continue to ripple all over the world,” explained honoree, Lina Esco. This ripple effect has caused women around the country to consider doing small gestures to spread this positive energy to other women.

Hosted by producer, actress and entrepreneur, Tonanztin Esperza, she shared her sentiments on the program. “Making a difference in your own life, doing something that you love and putting your heart out there is the first step,” she said. Esperza led the program highlighting each honoree during the reception held at STK’s beautiful patio inside of the W Hotel Westwood.

“It has been an honor to showcase such influential women who are making an impact across the country, while also raising money for such a worthy cause,” said Kevin Williams, Head of Multicultural Marketing at BMW Group.

The third honors brunch in the series from BMW, the invite-only brunch guests had the opportunity to “Drive for a Cause.” For every guest that test drove a car, BMW made a $100 donation to Kicked It In Heels, a foundation that provides transitional services to breast cancer survivors of color, ultimately donating $2,500 to the organization.

The brunch series has planned additional stops around the country in hopes of passing knowledge and experiences with more influential women.

Attendee and reporter, Robin Ayers explained, “People think that you’ve got to do something outrageous or it’s about finances or resources, but that’s far from the truth. It could be very simple – it could be just about passing your knowledge on and you would be surprised about how much that helps and how selfless that is.”

Watch the full video of the event here:

https://vimeo.com/175287662