Youth serve community with style

BY NAV PALL

Last March, Hollie D. Forest Fashion Design in Pointe Claire and Nancy Battet of the Lester B. Pearson School Board community and partnership liaison organized a fundraiser fashion show with high-school students.

The partnership raised about $7,000 for the Lakeshore General Hospital urology department. This year, Forest and the LBPSB affiliation are back with high hopes.

The fundraiser this time will benefit the Pearson Educational Foundation and the Old Welcome Mission in an attempt to improve the learning environment for students.

Raising money is one thing for the organizers. However, that is not their only motivation for putting on a show.

“We believe by doing this, we can offer students innovative learning opportunities.” Battet said. “Last year we had about 40 girls and they learned all kinds of skills. It wasn’t just about the modelling, but it’s the planning. For this year’s show every Saturday morning since mid-January we met and discussed all the skills involved to put on a show like public relations, computer techniques and sewing.”

Models will include over 100 high-school students aged 12 to 17 from St. Thomas, John Rennie, LaSalle Community Comprehensive, Lindsay Place, Pierrefonds Comprehensive, Beaconsfield, Lakeside Academy and the Gordon Robertson Career Centre.

The student experience is what makes the show a success, according to Forest, who is a true believer in learning through community service.

“We’re learning outside the box. Communities need young people; therefore we need to create a link so that students do not feel alienated. The more the community is with the students, the more the students will be with the community,” she said, adding, “It’s a two-way street.”

Josée Galderis, a fashion student of LaSalle College had this to say about combining learning and volunteering. “I am one of the designers in the fashion show. And for them to taking me on has really helped achieve my dreams of working in fashion. It has helped push myself to work as hard as I can.”

The show will not only include the runway, but a silent auction and raffle. Guest speaker Manny Pizarro, John Rennie’s integration aide, will discuss his upcoming Mount Everest climb.

The show is Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Pointe Claire. Tickets are $10 for students and $20 for adults. For more information, call Hollie Forest at 514-630-3901.