Calvin Fashion Show to Benefit Haiti

April 28, 2005 == MEDIA ADVISORY

An innovative fashion show, sponsored by four student organizations at Calvin
College, will improve health and living conditions in Haiti.

The "Love First Fashion Show 2005: Struttin' to Heal the World," which begins
at 7:30 p.m. on April 30 in Calvin's Gezon Auditorium, will donate all of its
proceeds to Partners in Health, a global organization that improves health care
awareness and access in impoverished countries.

The admission charge for the event is $5 or $3 with a Calvin ID.

The fashion show is a joint effort of Calvin's Social Justice Coalition,
Multicultural Student Development Organization, International Health and
Development Club, and African-American Students Making a Difference
Everywhere.

Partners in Health, founded by Dr. Paul Farmer (a speaker at last year's
January Series at Calvin), is currently working on recovery efforts in Haiti in
the devastating wake of Hurricane Jeanne in September of 2004.

"They promote public health and wellness," says Cheryl Brown, a Calvin student
who helped plan the event. "They've spread awareness about prevention of HIV
and TB. But one of the biggest things that they've done is they've empowered
people to promote health in their own communities."

Brown, along with Calvin senior Gihane Jeremie, has organized a show that is
both informative and fun. The evening's parade of fashion will gravitate from
"jeans and solids" through "70s fashion," "casual business wear," "hip hop,"
"summer wear" and "evening wear."

Prior to intermission, the show's organizers will show an eight-minute video
about Partners in Health and pass a donation basket. Following the
intermission, in a segment titled "Ten-Minute Fashion," six audience members
who have been given the materials to make their own outfits will model those
creations for the crowd.

Clothes for the show, modeled by Calvin students, were lent by Venito, GR
Menswear and The Buckle.

Some of the show's organizers, including Brown and Johanna Jelks (the daughter
of Calvin history professor Randal Jelks), also designed outfits for the show.
Jewelry comes from Carthesis, while Calvin alumnus Saraiah Powell will do the
makeup for the show.

The idea for the fashion show came from a conversation between Brown and
Jeremie about the post-hurricane situation in Haiti. Both of Jeremie's parents
were born and raised in Haiti prior to relocating in the U.S., and she wanted
to provide some sort of relief for the country. Brown had already been praying
along those lines.

"It's funny," she says, "because I had been previously thinking about raising
funds. I knew I wanted it to go to Haiti, and I wanted it to be a fashion show
- because I love fashion."

And there was another reason for the decision.

"We both come from African descent," says Jeremie. "It was important to us to
sow our gifts back into our heritage."

Contact Brown at clb23@calvin.edu or Jeremie at gej2@calvin.edu

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Received on Thu Apr 28 09:10:22 2005