Name: Dayna Altman, co-founder of the BeaYOUtiful project
Hometown: Southborough, Massachusetts
Major: Human Services
Dayna Altman wants to put her handprint on the world.
Dayna, co-founder of BeaYOUtiful.org and transfer student at NU, began a project dedicated to embracing the meaning of true beauty.
Dayna founded BEA[YOU]TIFUL with her sister Jamie in 2011. BEA[YOU]TIFUL is an online and hands-on project focused on raising funds and awareness for individuals and families affected by eating disorders. The Altman sisters make and sell bracelets named after individuals who inspire them, sending a majority of the proceeds to the National Eating Disorders Association. The remainder of the money is allocated to the funding of the 2013 emPOWERment Project Retreat, to educate girls about the truth about beauty.
Dayna and her sister have started publishing monthly videos on their site, hoping to get people to come together to change the definition of beauty that society presents. Each video features affected women and girls, telling their story of recovery.
For Dayna, the cause hits close to home. At a young age of five years old, Dayna suffered with an eating disorder, and as a freshman at Providence College, she struggled with depression and anxiety. She has attended three treatment centers since the Summer of 2010, one of which ruined her life, and another that changed it for the better. Throughout her time in treatment, Dayna made bracelets as a way of coping. She was able to connect with her sister, Jamie, through bracelet making, despite the taboo topic of her struggles. Their mother urged them to sell the bracelets, and in June 2011 the two started their project.
Recently, Dayna got a gig on Kiss 108, talking about the upcoming retreat and the overall project. She spilled the details of her story, and the troubles of living with depression and an eating disorder.
Dayna’s personal recovery has led her to even bigger visions. She hopes to get her ultimate inspiration, Demi Lovato, involved, who has openly struggled with self-harm and an eating disorder.
Although Dayna does not consider herself fully “fixed,” she’s doing her best to make sure no one has to go through what she did. “Everyone has their inner demons, but I believe you can make them into something beautiful.”