By Krys Estes
Contributing Writer
More than 200 guests attended a fashion show at the Country Club of Landfall on March 8 to show their support for Communities In Schools of Cape Fear.
The show, entitled Comunitá Amore Fashion Show, was the organization’s inaugural event and showcased spring styles for men and women.
“Carla Lewis and I were looking for an organization for at-risk kids in our community,” said Debbie Mitchell, one of the nine committee organizers for the fashion show. “Communities in Schools gives a kid a better opportunity to succeed.”
Proceeds from admission, raffle tickets and an auction were netted at more than $21,000, and 100 percent of the funds raised will benefit at-risk students in New Hanover and Pender counties.
The fashion show featured students served by Communities In Schools and recognizable faces from the community, including Marla Doster, Brad Bass, Cindy Vach, Kelly Barnes and Bobby Brandon plus celebrities Frances Weller and her sister Margaret Weller Stargell, modeling clothing from local stores including Bloke, Carlisle, Palm Garden, Island Passage and others.
Louise Hicks, executive director of Communities In Schools, said the organization’s mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and be successful in life. Working in partnership with New Hanover and Pender County Schools, Communities In Schools impacts the lives of more than 13,000 students each year.
Communities In Schools connects students across the K-12 spectrum and their families to basic and critical educational and community-based resources tailored to each student’s individual needs. As the nation’s leading dropout prevention organization, Communities In Schools is the only one proven to both decrease the dropout rate and increase the graduation rate, she said.
“We provide assistance to students who need additional help in order to make it through school. A lot of times it’s associated with poverty, other times it’s academic or social behavior issues,” Hicks said. “It’s incredibly impactful to know that you make a difference every single day.”
There are 38 affiliates of the organization across North Carolina, Hicks said.
“Our staff is so passionate about what they do and engaged as well as determined to help the kids they are working with,” Hicks said.
The students don’t choose to be in an unfortunate situation, Hicks explained, and they are coming to school every day while experiencing violence in their community, or enduring hunger at home, or lacking basic necessities or parental guidance. For these children, having a trusted adult volunteer can add much-needed stability and effect a true life change.
“I love volunteering for Communities In Schools,” said Charlotte Warren, a New Hanover High School student. “I have worked for the organization for two years. I go and I help kids or I do simple events like this show. I enjoy working for them.”
