Students spreading goodwill through fashion
November is a busy month for
fashion at Fanshawe College. After
wrapping up the Fashion Rocks
Hair of the Dog show a few weeks
ago, the second-year Fashion
Merchandising students have been
hard at work on their next show,
which takes place on November 30
at the New Goodwill building (255
Horton St.).
The students are working together with Goodwill Industries to put together the annual Spreading Goodwill fashion show, which features looks that were created with clothes donated from Goodwill. This will really test the students' creativity, but they are confident that there will be some amazing garments.
This event is so much more than a fashion show, and the charity it is supporting is just as special. My Sister's Place is a facility located in London where women who may be homeless or dealing with drug abuse can go to receive support. They provide these women with things like a homemade meal, showers, laundry, day beds, basic hygienic products and therapy if needed. The organization is embarking on an ambitious $1,000,000 capital campaign to improve and rejuvenate their facility. The changes they have planned will increase the number of women they will be able to help, and it is this reason that the students are so eager to help raise money.
One of the organization's latest endeavours is a project called Micro Enterprise. This is a collection of women who come together to create original pieces of jewellery from recycled jewellery, which is then sold to the public. Micro Enterprise began in 2007 with the goal to make women feel empowered by having them create their own jewelry business. Since launching this program, several women have joined and brought more of their talents with them, including sewing and knitting. Future plans for Micro Enterprise include opening their own store and building relationships with other organizations overseas.
The work that both these groups do is inspiring, and this is why the Fashion Merchandising students at Fanshawe College have chosen to support them over the years. Since this annual show began seven years ago, $25,000 worth of donations has been put back into the community. The students involved in the event are very passionate about what they are doing, and all their hard work is led by the Fashion Merchandising professors at the school. "Some of the adjectives used by the students to describe their experience working in partnership with My Sister's Place and Goodwill Industries are eye-opening, life-changing, inspiring and uplifting," said Wendy Sperry, a professor in the program. "The students have been working hard to promote the sustainability of women from My Sister's Place Micro Enterprise by producing this year's Spreading Goodwill Fashion Show. This has given the students a chance to expand their skills in a real-life environment by giving back, building community and genuinely understanding the meaning of 'spreading goodwill.'"
The new Goodwill building will be transformed into a beautiful winter wonderland, entirely designed by the Fashion Merchandising students. This show is a gala event, with elegant attire encouraged. Guests are treated to beverages and appetizers, and have the option to bid on items in a silent auction.
Tickets for this event are $45, with all the proceeds going to My Sister's Place and the Micro Enterprise Program, and can be purchased at My Sister's Place (566 Dundas St.), or online at www.fanshawec.ca/spreadinggoodwill. The gala will take place on November 30, with cocktails beginning at 7 p.m. — the show starts at 8:15.
It will be a night of amazing fashions paired with a feeling of hope. Please come out to support this organization and the amazing women they benefit.
The students are working together with Goodwill Industries to put together the annual Spreading Goodwill fashion show, which features looks that were created with clothes donated from Goodwill. This will really test the students' creativity, but they are confident that there will be some amazing garments.
This event is so much more than a fashion show, and the charity it is supporting is just as special. My Sister's Place is a facility located in London where women who may be homeless or dealing with drug abuse can go to receive support. They provide these women with things like a homemade meal, showers, laundry, day beds, basic hygienic products and therapy if needed. The organization is embarking on an ambitious $1,000,000 capital campaign to improve and rejuvenate their facility. The changes they have planned will increase the number of women they will be able to help, and it is this reason that the students are so eager to help raise money.
One of the organization's latest endeavours is a project called Micro Enterprise. This is a collection of women who come together to create original pieces of jewellery from recycled jewellery, which is then sold to the public. Micro Enterprise began in 2007 with the goal to make women feel empowered by having them create their own jewelry business. Since launching this program, several women have joined and brought more of their talents with them, including sewing and knitting. Future plans for Micro Enterprise include opening their own store and building relationships with other organizations overseas.
The work that both these groups do is inspiring, and this is why the Fashion Merchandising students at Fanshawe College have chosen to support them over the years. Since this annual show began seven years ago, $25,000 worth of donations has been put back into the community. The students involved in the event are very passionate about what they are doing, and all their hard work is led by the Fashion Merchandising professors at the school. "Some of the adjectives used by the students to describe their experience working in partnership with My Sister's Place and Goodwill Industries are eye-opening, life-changing, inspiring and uplifting," said Wendy Sperry, a professor in the program. "The students have been working hard to promote the sustainability of women from My Sister's Place Micro Enterprise by producing this year's Spreading Goodwill Fashion Show. This has given the students a chance to expand their skills in a real-life environment by giving back, building community and genuinely understanding the meaning of 'spreading goodwill.'"
The new Goodwill building will be transformed into a beautiful winter wonderland, entirely designed by the Fashion Merchandising students. This show is a gala event, with elegant attire encouraged. Guests are treated to beverages and appetizers, and have the option to bid on items in a silent auction.
Tickets for this event are $45, with all the proceeds going to My Sister's Place and the Micro Enterprise Program, and can be purchased at My Sister's Place (566 Dundas St.), or online at www.fanshawec.ca/spreadinggoodwill. The gala will take place on November 30, with cocktails beginning at 7 p.m. — the show starts at 8:15.
It will be a night of amazing fashions paired with a feeling of hope. Please come out to support this organization and the amazing women they benefit.
