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Last year, local trendsetters
found great buys right off the runway.
All proceeds raised by
Reflections on Style will benefit The Salvation Army of Greater
Houston.
Reflections on Style will have all the glitz and glamour of New
York's Fashion Week, minus the cost.
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Organizers are
keeping mum about the specific designer lines set to hit the
runway at ‘Reflections on Style,’ but if tickets sales are any
indication, odds are many of the same designers from New York’s
Fashion Week will have their collections make an appearance in
Houston. At least that is what many local fashionistas are
hoping.
The main difference between New York’s Fashion Week and
Houston’s Reflections on Style Boutique and Runway Show is the
price. Models in Houston will be wearing gently used designer
items donated to The Salvation Army’s Women’s Auxiliary by many
of the city’s most elite and fashion savvy women. Theater of
Fashion will be the theme of this unique spring collection.
“Ticket sales have
been excellent; this is our fifth year putting this event
together and the word has definitely spread. People know the
quality of items we will have available,” says Danielle Ellis,
event chairman for Reflections on Style. “This is the most
exciting and unique year yet.
What makes the
boutique and runway show even more remarkable is the fact that
all proceeds raised by the event will be used to benefit The
Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary. This philanthropic group of
professional women is dedicated to supporting and improving the
programs and services operated by The Salvation Army Greater
Houston Area Command.
Mrs. Major Carolyn Gesner, area commander for the Houston
Command, serves on the Women’s Auxiliary and considers the
group’s contributions indispensable.
“What The Salvation Army’s Women’s Auxiliary has been able to
accomplish in such a short amount of time is nothing short of
wonderful. They have only been doing the ‘Reflections on Style’
fashion show for a few years and already their impact has been
tremendous,” she says.
With more than 400 members in
the local region, The Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary operates
on the belief that through their work they are positively
impacting the lives of those less fortunate. Over the past five
years fundraising initiatives like the Reflections on Style
Boutique and Runway Show have enabled the Auxiliary to award
over $1.8 million in grants and funding to The Salvation Army
Greater Houston Area Command.
Last year alone, the Women’s Auxiliary awarded a total of
$366,000 in grants to seven of The
Salvation Army’s Corps Community Centers, six of its Boys &
Girls Clubs, the Family Residence and Sally's House shelters,
and to various other programs and services operated by the 120
year old nonprofit organization.
At Family Residence – a shelter for homeless women with families
– the funds were used to create welcome boxes for new residents,
as well as to increase the quality of services provided. Each
welcome basket contains toiletries and other basic needs, as
well as small knick knacks to make the women and their children
feel at home at the shelter.
Sally’s House – a transitional living
shelter for homeless women with drug and alcohol addiction
issues – used their share of the Women’s Auxiliary funds to
stock up their ‘Butterfly Closet.’ Clients of Sally’s House use
the ‘Butterfly Closet’ to obtain new clothes when they first
arrive at the shelter from the streets. Graduation baskets,
filled with sheets, cleaning supplies, towels, and other
toiletries for the women to start their new lives outside of the
facility when they are ready to leave, were also made possible
by The Salvation Army’s Women’s Auxiliary.
“It’s great to know that when
you donate to The Salvation Army’s Women’s Auxiliary, you know
the end result and where the money is going,” Ellis explains.
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