Meet Daniela Galdi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniela Galdi.

Hi Daniela, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Dress Up The House began as a way for me to give back, inspire creativity, and help those in need through financial support. At the time, I was a full-time dance teacher looking for a solution for the extra dance costumes that remained from recitals and performances so they did not sit in the basement for years never to be used. A friend suggested that I look into donating costumes to the Ronald McDonald House children and families.

When I reached out to the Philadelphia House, I learned that Halloween was not a holiday where they received many donations or support. From that point forward, I have made it my mission to help raise money and supply costumes for the families during the holiday, which offsets financial costs for those residing in the Houses while receiving treatment and care for terminally ill children.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Challenges vary with each year. At the start, we hoped to be able to recycle once-worn costumes; however, learned that could compromise the health of the children residing at the Houses. We then moved to Amazon Wish Lists and collected random options to send to the Houses. We are always trying to work as effectively as possible for the donors to continue their loyal contributions, but most especially, for the families and children.

We found the Amazon process inhibited the quantity of support we had received and, at the same time, realized families were still going out to purchase costumes and accessories because sizes varied in our supply, and options were not what their children desired. These families and children deserve the very best and the opportunity for a personalized experience. We wanted to make sure the families were getting EXACTLY what they wanted to dress up as for Halloween, so we updated our process again.

Now, the families are able to submit a form with all the important details and links, so we can provide them with exactly what they want. Also, we will also supply costumes for the entire family, including siblings and caretakers. We accommodate 6 Houses in the US, but that is barely scratching the service. Funding is a continued battle as we make efforts to spread the word outside of our personal circle. Although our organization donates 100% of profits to our mission, we do not have a non-profit status yet, which makes it is hard to qualify for larger sponsorships and funding opportunities. This will be our next challenge to conquer moving forward.

This year, we also revisited our original sustainability intention — what to do with used or once-worn costumes? So, we started a Poshmark Page. We accept new or used costumes and resell them on our “Dress Up The House” page on the platform. All profits after associated fees go towards any upcoming fundraisers or holiday drives.

As you know, we’re big fans of GAL Co. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
DANIELA GALDI​ is a leading creative resource giving the BIG PICTURE on Media, Business Development, and Living Empowered encouraging others to see things from new perspectives. With her “positive ray of sunshine” attitude and powerhouse energy, Daniela gets things done across multiple fields.

With her professional training as a Media Personality, Entertainer, Entrepreneur, and Fitness & Wellness Instructor, along with her self-started philanthropic outreach programs, Daniela’s far-reaching resume is proof of her expertise in an array of industries. She is the Founder of G​ AL CO,​ which represents the organizations and entities established by Daniela Galdi focusing efforts on identifying, originating, managing, and developing impactful lifestyle brands.

Daniela Galdi’s purpose in life is to help people achieve their goals and live their passions. A self-starter and an entrepreneur since 21 years old, Daniela shares her entrepreneurial prowess and expertise for other self-starters to aspire and build on their missions, visions, brands, and talents through her agency, b​ yVesta Agency,​ art, media, design management, development, and consultation company that creates staying power through dynamic content.

For many years, Daniela was featured On-Air at ​QVC​ Home Shopping Network as Lori Greiner’s (acclaimed investor from ABC’s Shark Tank) backup host and brand spokesperson. Along with product sales, she can speak on a variety of categories and has a strong journalistic instinct with an eye for stories, people, and trends. She is a professionally-trained media personality working on national and digital networks hosting interviews, reporting, representing brands, and producing.

As a lifelong performer, Daniela is a multi-talented entertainment artist with an extensive background in performing, producing, and teaching fine arts and mixed media for over 15 years. She loves to meet new people, hear their stories, and help them heal in their journeys.

She has been passionate about holistic wellness & self-help methods from a young age and is a teacher and teacher trainer in fitness and Classical Pilates through with world-renowned training from ​True Pilates NY. She is also trained in Emotional Empowerment from the ​International Institute for Emotional Empowerment ​and is passionate about mental health advocacy through her support and empowerment organization, Still Standing Together.​

You can connect with her by email ​at [email protected]​ or on Instagram and Twitter @DanielaDoesWhat.​ Learn more about her endeavors at​ d​anielagaldi.com.​

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson has been to cherish the moments we have and find every opportunity to help and be kind as we never know what or to what extent others are enduring hardships or pain. Seeing the smiles on the family’s faces each year serves as a reminder that it is possible to experience hope and joy in even the hardest of times — it’s not only possible, it’s necessary.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: dressupthehouse.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/dressupthehouse
• Facebook: facebook.com/dressupthehouse
• Other: danielagaldi.com