An awaited fashion how that has run nearly two decades returns to Cape Coral next weekend.
The Guardian Angels for Special Populations will hold its 17th annual Fashion Show on March 14, at 10 a.m. at The Westin Resort and Convention Center.
The show benefits the Special Populations Center in Cape Coral and features participants who will strut the runway donning outfits of their choice and professional hair and makeup.
“They look forward to it a lot,” said Special Populations Center Supervisor Milina Park “It’s one of our largest fundraisers. I can speak on behalf of the participants that go, and they are so excited. Guardian Angels get sponsors so that those participants can keep those outfits that they pick out to wear at the fashion show.”
Tickets are $75 per person, with the event featuring a gourmet luncheon, live auction, silent auction, grab bags, raffles and games.
All proceeds help pay for participant scholarships, free and healthy lunches, wheelchair-accessible vehicles and facilities, daily program needs, art and garden therapy and much more.
“Some of the individuals wouldn’t have services without those scholarships,” Park said. “They wouldn’t be able to attend a program, make friends, gain those social skills, life skills, daily activities, that they’re involved in now. Guardian Angels does a lot in programming supplies above and beyond the city budget.”
The Special Populations Center offers a variety of programs for adults and children who have intellectual and physical disabilities. Its mission is to promote independence through exposure, education, experience, and encouragement in a safe, caring environment.
Organizers expect a crowd of around 400 at the fashion show, with 23 participants from the program modeling.
“So what’s different about our fashion show is that we actually have the individuals that the money is benefiting at the fashion show,” Park said. “So not only are the models there that are going to be modeling, but quite a few of our participants from the Special Populations Center also come and support their friends, as well as a lot of family members.
“So you see the whole community come together to support the individuals who are modeling. They’re so proud of what they’re wearing and they’re so excited, and you can see that as they enter the stage and come down the aisle. Everyone’s standing up and cheering. It’s just a lot of fun.”
Park said the fashion show does wonders when it comes to building confidence in those modeling.
“We have a couple individuals who are very shy,” she said. “Sometimes we’ve had to have staff members come up and help them walk up to the stage, and once they get up there and everyone’s clapping and cheering, it really builds up their confidence, and then they’re able to walk off the stage themselves and have that good feeling that you get when everyone’s cheering you on.”
The Freida B. Smith Special Populations Center is a dedicated facility that provides a variety of programs and services for adults and teenagers with intellectual and developmental disabilities with the goal to promote independence in a safe and caring environment by offering experiences that foster growth, connection, and confidence.
“One of the main things that Special Populations does for the individuals that attend the program is we teach them life skills and to take those life skills and use them in their actual everyday lives and hopefully gain independence, where eventually, maybe they don’t need our program anymore,” Park said.
Some members work at Pop’s Cafe at City Hall, and some work with the city’s recycling program.
Park said it’s amazing to see the growth from its members.
“It’s one of the most important things that we, as the staff that work with the individuals every day, to see their progress,” Park said. “It’s amazing. We always make sure to make sure that those individuals that are making the progress, maybe they don’t recognize that they’ve done it, but we always make sure to give them that recognition so that they know, and to help them see what they can accomplish.”
Park shared her thanks to Lovely Boutique, which provides the wardrobe at a large discount for the models, as well as Cape Coral Technical College, who has students come in and style the models’ hair and provides makeup.
The Frieda B. Smith Special Populations Center is at 410 Santa Barbara Blvd.
For additional information about the Guardian Angels for Special Populations, including tickets to the fashion show, visit myspecialpops.org or call (239) 574-0574.
The Westin Resort and Convention Center is at 5951 Silver King Blvd., Cape Coral.
To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com