Fundraiser • Model
Michelle Wright (top) works the runway
for the Tri Delta “Fashion
for Life” show to raise money for
St. Jude medical research. (Bottom)
Hundreds of designer jeans were on sale
after the show for a fraction of the
retail price, with half of the proceeds
going
to St. Jude. Tracey Roman / Online Forty-Niner
Sorority clothing sale benefits cancer research
By Katie Plourd
Online Forty-Niner
Managing Editor
Cal State Long Beach’s Tri Delta sorority put on “Fashion for life,” its
annual fashion show, Thursday, showing off and selling discounted designer
duds to benefit children’s cancer research.
The event began with members of CSULB’s seven panhellenic sororities
strutting their stuff down the runway. The models showed off designer jeans
and tops available for fashion show attendees to purchase. Each model showed
off three outfits during the exhibition and four members of CSULB’s fraternities
modeled two pairs of jeans each.
All the clothing featured was available for purchase at discounted rates following
the fashion show. The sale featured 700 pairs of jeans for men and women. Prices
ranged from $65-$85 for women from designers like Blue Cult, Sacred Blue, 575,
Citizens for Humanity, Joes Jeans, Yanuk, James, Miss Sixty, Red Engine and
Rio Starr, some of which regularly sell for over $200 at retail value. Shirts
from C&C sold for half of retail value while men’s jeans ran for
$85 a pair. There were also designer shirts from local boutiques such as Hippie
Chicks Style, Bell Cat and shoes from Volatile.
According to Sasha Svimonoff, a freshman at CSULB and Tri Delta’s philanthropy
chairwoman, 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale will be donated directly
to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Tri Delta’s national
charity.
Tri Delta works with Charity Denim, a company that bought the jeans from a
variety of companies and donated them to the sorority to sell at discounted
rates. The sorority will donate half of the proceeds to St. Jude and the other
half to a fund used to buy jeans for the next year’s fashion show, Svimonoff
said.
According to Kathleen Talbot, event marketing representative for St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, St. Jude is a children’s research hospital located
in Memphis, Tn. The hospital specializes in research and treatment of children
for a number of different diseases. The primary cancer the hospital researches
and treats is acute lymphoblast leukemia (ALL), one of the most common forms
of cancer found in children.
They also conduct research on other diseases such as AIDS, sickle cell disease
and various brain tumors.
“
It’s not your typical hospital that has like an emergency room,” Talbot
said. “It’s a primary research hospital trying to find cures for
catastrophic children’s diseases.”
The research done on ALL has made drastic improvements in the treatment of
the disease according to Talbot. Today the survival rate of ALL is about 85
percent. It has improved over 80 percent since 1962 when the survival rate
was a mere 4 percent.
Eighty-four cents for every dollar raised goes directly to the hospital, according
to Talbot. Part of the goal of St Jude is to provide treatment for children
and makes progress in research on cures for the different diseases. The hospital
does not charge families for medical care or transportation to Memphis and
often treats those who are not covered by insurance or medical aid.
“
Sometimes the treatments for these type of treatments can be very costly,” Talbot
said. “We make sure that these families never see a bill.”
This is the second year Tri Delta has put on “Fashion for Life.” They
also hold additional charity events such as a softball tournament and ultimate
Frisbee competition that benefit St. Jude throughout the year. Sorority members
also participate in smaller activities such as sending notes of encouragement
to children at St. Jude, Svimonoff said.
The collaboration with St. Jude does not stop with Long Beach’s chapter
of Tri Delta, according to Talbot. Chapters from all over the country have
been holding charity events to benefit St. Jude since 1999.
“
We’ve been working with them and put together that we would be their
national charity,” Talbot said. “We work with Tri-Deltas all over
the country who put on charity events like this fashion show.”
If an individual chapter raises over $5,000, the chairwoman is given the opportunity
to visit St. Jude Children’s Hospital in person and spend two weeks with
patients and volunteers at the hospital.
|
