The Story of The Dove

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Every story has a beginning and the journey of the Breaking Free Dove must be told as far as it has flown at this point in time. This is a glimpse into the history of the Breaking Free Dove pendant.

In Helena, Alabama, a tiny town just South of Birmingham, Alabama; Lora Lunsford, owner of The Bead Biz, was busy in the spring of 2005 planning the annual fund raising event for a local women's shelter. Lora was faced with the task of designing a special piece of jewelry for 2005; the scheduled artist was not able to design a piece for the event. Lunsford had come up with the idea of a pendant; a dove in an open circle, flying to break free. This was to be made from silver clay. The dove would symbolize a new beginning, breaking free to a new life; hope. She knew she had found her special piece for the fundraiser.

An artist of a different kind, a musician; Bo Bice, had begun his own journey. This turned out to be a life-changing journey for Bice and also was to have a direct effect on the flight of the dove, although Bo Bice had no idea how strong he would affect this flight at the time. Bo Bice, had begun his own incredible journey as a finalist on American Idol Season 4. This turned out to be a life changing journey for Bice which became intertwined with the flight of the Breaking Free Dove. Lora Lunsford was making several pieces of jewelry for Bice to wear on his appearance during American Idol. During a visit to Helena, Nancy Downes, Bice's mother, visited The Bead Biz. Nancy was captivated by the lovely silver pendant Lora was wearing. It was the prototype of the Breaking Free Dove pendant. As a jewelry artisan who puts her heart and soul into her designs, Lora has a history of never parting with the original pattern for her designs. But this time the genuine love of a mother for her son persuaded Lora to make an exception. Nancy wanted the original piece for Bo so badly that Lora took the original dove from around her neck and let Nancy ship it to Bo in Los Angeles. The rest, as they say, is history.

Bice was photographed wearing the dove and this caused much curiosity because just about anything Bice did caused quite a media frenzy. The "flight" of the dove had begun with Lunsford, Bo Bice and his fans, who helped pass the word about the beautiful silver pendant. Soon orders for this beautiful dove were pouring in from all over the world. The proceeds from the sale of this dove benefited the shelter, The SafeHouse of Shelby County. A Birmingham, Alabama Christian musician and songwriter, David Graves, became aware of the many needs of domestic violence victims while attending a retreat in the spring of 2005. There were several domestic violence victims there and this gave him insight into the world of a domestic violence victim.

 While searching the internet, another of David's new friends came across something she thought would be of interest to David. She shared the story of a Breaking Free Dove pendant which had been created to benefit the SafeHouse of Shelby County in Alabama. David found out that this shelter was very close to his home. He knew his music could be used to help support the victims of domestic violence in his area so David made a commitment to donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of his album to the SafeHouse of Shelby County Graves was inspired to write the song, I Have a Voice, which was the title song for his first CD. This song refers to breaking free from domestic violence after having attended the retreated and hearing one of the victim's personal stories. As the "flight" of the Breaking Free Dove pendant continues, many along the way have contributed to the flight. Whether large, or small, every contribution has been important as the journey evolves. Each person knows their role and knows they have followed their heart. But even more important than the contributions that have been made to the flight of the Breaking Free Dove are the many benefits the recipients have experienced.

The Breaking Free Dove pendant has become a symbol of the breaking free journey to a new beginning and a new life the recipient has begun. Through their work many from all walks of life, brought together by many factors; all personal, some initially introduced because of their love of the music of Bo Bice, others because of past experience with domestic violence personally or of family members; the flight of the dove continues now through the desire of these individuals with their contributions here. And so, a new dimension to this dove's "flight" begins. We know not where this journey will lead. But,it is the knowledge in our hearts that this is the right thing, a good thing, a call to broaden the circle of the dove's flight, binds us together. Now a new dimension to the flight of the Breaking Free Dove begins. We have evolved with a singleness of purpose, bound by love for our family, our friends, some known to us... some not yet revealed, and a commitment to aid and support the victims of domestic violence. We know not where our journey will lead us, but our love and dedication will be the hallmark of our work. "The Dove's flight" now becomes a "mission" to assist others and to provide whatever we can in order to help that "one person" who might need us. That person who might be a sister, a mother, or someone we haven't met yet. We have bonded together to become: "The Sisterhood of the Dove"