Thank You Charlotte!!!

After 5 months of preparations, it's hard to believe Fashion Beyond Borders is over! What a beautiful experience, with so many amazing people! Thank you to Anthony Simons of Plitzs Fashion Marketing for his direction and support! Thank you to our Designers: Sachhi Couture, The Defining Line, TLine Designs, Moniquea Renee, Malou Style, Nordstrom, Tara Davis and KoKo Nanga for a thrilling show of fashion and inspiring creativity! Thank you to all of the lovely and handsome models, who were kind, confident and so very professional! Thank you to each MAKEUP and Hair artist: EMRC, The Makeup Bully, Makeup by Onieka Cache and Derek Moser Hair! Thank you so much to Carolina Style Magazine for an incredible interview and to Erin L Hubbs for running and directing the Back Stage/BTS! Thank you also to Sachhi Event Center for allowing us to showcase at your venue. Thank you to our vendors: Fox Skynz by Melissa Davis and Mary Kay by Amani Dooley Wilkes! To SS Events, thank you for the tables, linen, chairs and lights. Thank you to Mi Amor Weddings for the gorgeous ceiling drapery and chandeliers and also a well deserved thank you to Elegant and Classy Wedding for providing the backdrop drapery. Thank you to 704Sign Printing and LW Designs for our graphics and Printing. A warm thank you to Simply Sweet and Olive Garden for the food! Thank you to Cyrus Speaks and Justin The Beloved for the entertainment and to DJ Hugo of iParty DJs for the music and good vibes! A special thank you to Samantha Pernell for hosting! Thank you to Off Broadway, Fashion&Compassion, Simply Ashleigh, DMone Jewelry, Pretty Southern and Darrell Roach for contributing the giveaway and auction pieces! Thank you to all of our media: Tyrone Combs, Brandi Myers Photography, Mr. Soc, Crys Fararr and Sheldon Lazzare! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you also to Pearls of Hope for their inspirational desire to give love and kindness in the world! Together, we can do amazing things!!!! Thank you guests, family and friends! We sold out against the odds and raised $2,241!!!! What a blessing this will be for The Merino School! We did it, together! Thank you!!!

Fashion and Compassion

As we approach the date of our first, community wide fundraiser, we must say thank you to a very special organization that has truly been a blessing to us. Fashion & Compassion, a non-profit, jewelry & accessories brand is located in Charlotte, NC. They were so kind as to invite us to host a collaborative "Jewelry Party", to help us raise money and spread the word about our Fashion Beyond Borders Fundraiser!!

Fashion & Compassion seeks to fulfill their mission by connecting caring consumers with vulnerable artisans to bring dignity through economic empowerment.Their hope and goal is to provide dignified jobs to women in vulnerable communities around the world. In addition to providing employment, they also donate ALL net proceeds to Ministry Partners, to further meet the needs of he communities they serve. Such communities include the U.S., Uganda, Sudan, Honduras, Ecuador and Ethiopia!

Today was a day of inspiration, prayer and encouragement! Thank you, truly, to Celeste and the Fashion&Compassion team for sharing your story and your space with us! Your encouragement has meant to much and we truly pray for another opportunity to share with you in the near future! If you are ever in Charlotte, please stop by and meet these beautiful women who empower other women, one life at a time! "Share and Do Good"!

Community Support for our Fundraiser!!!

Last Saturday, in Charlotte, and Sunday, in Greensboro, the ladies of Pearls of Hope Outreach met with many models around the North Carolina area, who came out in efforts to support our cause for students in Honduras. 50 models of all ethnicities and degrees of fashion experience walked the runway, in hopes of being selected to represent Fashion Beyond Borders! It was an exciting atmosphere and we are so thankful to everyone who attended!

"I'm here because I want to make a difference in the world. I'm not just a model, I'm a person and I want others to know that it doesn't matter how you look or where you come from. Everybody is special and I want to share that message in any way that I can", says one model who came out in Charlotte.

Anthony Simons of Plitzs Fashion Marketing, Erin L. Hubbs, photographer of Charlotte Style Magazine, as well as Olivia Pires, Franklin Terry and Katrina Chief, local models from the area, also came to give their support of this show! It was a beautiful experience and only marks the progression of this beautiful event!

If you are a model and missed the casting, but would like to submit, it's not too late! Pleas shoot us an email by October 14 for more information!