I wanted to make sure to mention the wonderful organizations that are supporting ReDress efforts by donating items for our July 19th silent auction that will take place during the fashion show.

As more organizations and businesses contribute I will add them to this post. Please show your appreciation for their help through your patronage!

Summer show!!

I am VERY excited to be announcing our first Summer Fashion Show!!!

This will be a Great opportunity to support ReDress and our partners, Learn all about our mission, have some great fun and shop with FANTASTIC DISCOUNTS!!

 

Throughout the evening there will be a runway show, a giveaway of tickets to the bridal expo, refreshments, a video presentation, a representative from each of our partner charities and a chance to shop our Entire Inventory, even unlisted items, at up to 40% off!!

Let me tell you how it works!

Just for coming to the show you get 10% off

If you bring a friend that is another 10% off

If you bring a garment to donate you can take another 10% off

and finally if you make a monetary donation of any amount that is another 10% off

All four together = 40% off any purchase at the show!!

So tell all your friends! If you need gown or an accessory or if you have one to donate, this is the time and place to shop!!

To RSVP please follow the link to our Facebook page event and sign up to come!

I am very excited about this awesome event and I cant wait to see you there!

The Missions Teams Sent Out From Christ the Rock Church

The remaining supported organization I have left to write about is a little bit different in that it is a collection of missionaries instead of just one entity. Perhaps that is why I saved it for last.
The money is given to a missionary fund that supports several teams in various places around the globe. There are to many for me to write about all of them so I will tell you about the work of 2 in particular that have really impressed me with their what they have been doing.

Papua New Guinea

This is one of the most amazing examples of perseverance and following Gods call despite all the unexpected difficulties I have ever heard.

A couple went as missionaries to one of the native tribes of Papua New Guinea with the idea of translating the Bible into the native language. A big and worthy job but not, in itself, an uncommon one. Here is the twist: upon arriving there and spending some time with the people they discovered that not only were the people speaking a language they didn't know, they were entirely illiterate. They did not even Have a written language! 

I am blown away by their next choice. They spent the next 20 years of their lives learning the language, creating a written form and then teaching it to the natives! What a wonderful couple! What a life sacrifice and display of the love of Christ!

A couple of years ago, along with our regular support, Christ the Rock collected $5000 as a Christmas offering so that they could finally print Bibles in the new language. Just over a month ago the gentleman who has been devoting his life this came and spoke at our church. He left, as a gift, a copy of the translated Bible.

They had no idea when they went what lay ahead of them, but the glorious way in which they showed Gods love and worked until they had given these people access to His Word is beautiful and amazing.

Brava, Cape Verde

This little island was (and is) one of  the destinations of our church missions trips. Several years ago a couple named Eurico and Dina Lomba, who are native to Cape Verde, joined in the trip hoping to reach out to the people of there own country. Little did they know the impact they would make. 

On returning home from the trip they began to feel the call of God on their harts to go back as full time missionaries. They approached the pastor to let him know that they were moving home to Cape Verde, where they had grown up. They told him that they wanted to start a bible study when they get back on the Island of Brava. The Holy Spirit prompted our pastor that they were going to start a church. They traveled back to Cape Verde with great expectancy of how God would use them. 

Eurico and Dina began doing relational evangelism on Brava and a small congregation was birthed. At first the church met on the patio of Eurico's home. He latter move the congregation into a basement room behind his house. In 2010, with the help of three stateside churches that support Eurico and Dina, they added a second floor onto their residence to build a sanctuary for the church and guest rooms for missions teams.God is moving on the island of Brava. In 2012 and 2013 a team of ministers from Christ the Rock Church journeyed to Brava to do outreach with the Lombas.

Some of the testimonies coming back with the teams who went over are mind blowing. Stories of people trying to give there children to the church workers to bring them home to America, stories of people having a bath for the first time in there lives. The need there is great but the Love of God being show is also great. God is using this church to show himself to the hurting people on the island of Brava and I am proud to be able to help them continue His work.

 

The ReDress Fashion Show!

Where do I begin? 

Interestingly enough, I am finding it harder to write a blog about the fashion show than actually putting it on. Since I don't have the actual photos yet how about I start by painting you a mental picture...

It is a Saturday evening, already dark by 5 o'clock, and snowing. After making several trips back and forth to my car I am finally able to stay in the warmth of the building and shake off the snow that had accumulated on my head (if i had been moving slowly enough to get any that is). The show is being held in the sanctuary of a church that was generously lent to me by the pastors. My wonderful, supportive friends were there to help and we began setting up. 

Moving the chairs, decorating the stage, putting out the food, making coffee, finding the right music (oh golly the right music, if I could roll my eyes in print I would. That took about 45 minutes!)

As it got closer to starting time the models began arriving.

Putting brochures on all the chairs, don't forget the waters, setting the lights, figuring out the microphone, does my make-up look ok?

All but one model is here now as well as a couple of guests.

Put the dresses in the right order, do you know which ones are yours? I need an extra pair of shoes!

It is just about time to start. We waited for the last couple of guests to arrive. The snow is coming down pretty thick so we wait a little longer.

The Show began:

"Good evening everyone! Thank you for braving the weather and coming out to see the First ReDress Fashion Show!" 

Then I spoke about ReDress. What it is for, why I started it and what I want it to become.

In turn, each model came and showed the gown she wore with poise and grace (they were, each of them, perfectly lovely). There were 13 dresses on display that night, 7 bridal and 6 formal. All of them were described and the special features shown. Each dress is one that has been listed on the web page, save one that is very new. A friend took pictures for me.

After the dresses were shown I asked the guests to help me. I asked for feedback about the show. I asked for support in spreading the word about ReDress. I asked that they speak with their church leaders that maybe I could present ReDress to their congregation.

There were 7 adult guests who came to see this first show, all of them very supportive and helpful. It was an "invite only" event and I had originally planned on 50 or so guests but I am ok that there were not that many because even with the small crowd the purpose of the show was accomplished. I wanted to have a trial show; a practice run. I wanted to go through it to learn how to have a successful show. To learn what worked and what didn't, to have some experience under my belt so that the next time when everyone is invited and all of the chairs are full everything will be perfect. 

Here is what I learned:

1. I need to work on my public speaking... I need confidence and ease and a lot of practice. And I need to be able to say something appropriate during an unexpected pause. 
2. I need to make the runway longer so the models can really show the dresses from all sides and how the move.
3. I need to make sure there are no errors in the brochures I pass out.
4. The set up and design of  the space was great. The positioning of the seats and having the brochures and waters on all the chairs was good. The lighting was also good. The food set-up and the welcome table were great although I should have turned the welcome table sideways so it stuck out and was noticeable. All of the aesthetics were great.
5. My models were beautiful and showed the dresses very well. Their cues coming in were very well executed, however I need to have a practice for exit cues. Neither they nor I quite knew when it was time to exit the stage (although they did very well improvising!). Also, taking more time to pose is something I should try to work in.

This first show was very useful so I believe it was very successful. I believe the next show will be so much better because of the experience of this first one. A lot of work goes into putting on a runway show but now I know I can pull it off and I know how to make it better.

I could not have done any of this with out the help of my wonderful models: Lesley, Kimberly, Keila, Cynthia, Doris and Christine. I also could not have done it with out the help of my amazing mom Beth or my amazing friend Andrea. So thank you to all of you for everything and I am looking forward to doing this again with you in the summer!

A Purpose to Serve

This past weekend ReDress hosted a Community Baby Shower event. It was the first charitable event that ReDress has been proud to host and I am so happy that this company is starting to make a difference in someones life. After all, the reason the business was started was so that I could reach out and help. The whole goal of ReDress is to bring help, hope and the love of Christ to the world and I saw that happening last Saturday!

With our first sale I donated $5 to Amirah house. Being able to do that was wonderful for me! Last Saturday we raised $200 and a large supply of baby items! That was beyond joy! It was encouraging to be fulfilling the companies purpose to serve and it has deepened a hunger to see it continue.

It was a fun event and I came away with not only all these wonderful gifts of love from the community but also some funny and touching and interesting memories.

Not everyone was keen to help or offer up a donation but the ones who were did it with joy. Here are some of the stories:

• I had the pleasure of unexpectedly meeting the parents of one of the woman who run the center we were raising support for! They were so proud of there girl (and rightly so!) and were excited to see  that I was there to help out her organization
• One man came to the store with his son, a boy of about 3. He gladly took the opportunity to lend a helping hand and let his son put in the donated diapers he bought for us! What a good dad!
• One lady gladly agreed to purchase a baby item while in the store and then emerged some fifteen minute later looking very sheepish... she had totally forgotten! It is easy to forgive this seeing as I frequently forget many things!
• One guy told us that he didn't want to give, but if we had been raising money for the death penalty he would have gladly supported!! Oh no!!
• We were greeted by a pastor and his wife who said they had been saving some things for A.W.C. and if I would wait for them to go get it. They returned 30 min later with two jumbo boxes of diapers and $100!
• One little boy came with his father an two brothers. He couldn't have been more than 8. He said he couldn't buy diapers. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out his coins and dropped them into the collection bottles... the whole 28cents <3

There were people who listened to the whole fundraising pitch , said it was a great idea and then went in without another thought. There were people who listened and made a face that said "I don't care". there were those who didn't listen and walked on. There were those who did not listen and gave because were were collecting. Then there were those who cared about what we were trying to accomplish. they listened, they asked questions, they fully supported the mission of A.W.C. in their fight to save babies lives. One old man stands out in my memory who really supported what we were doing. It was those who cared that made it such a wonderful experience.

I am so very grateful for the help I had that day and for the people who cared enough to give.

Out and About

I think ReDress is beginning to grow up. This is the point in the story where the coming-of-age scene happens. It is not an easy time or a short one but it is very productive (hopefully!)

The baby steps happened when I got my official business name registered, solidified the idea of what I wanted ReDress to be about and tried to find way to make it happen.

The child stage included starting to build up my stock and have photo shoots, making the web-site, setting up on face book and telling people about my company. Finding someone to help me along the way was also an important thing (for any youngster!). 

But now I am starting to get my feet wet in a larger market. I have been blessed to be allowed to set up a table at events, Display my company, share what I am trying to accomplish, and even start to put together an event of my own!.

Like any tween, I feel awkward talking to people I don't know and am still learning how to put myself and my company out there but I have the support of many friends, my family and, of course the founder of it all, my loving Lord.
I am grateful for all of the wonderful people who have helped and cared and I ask for the prayers of all that God would keep his hands on ReDress and bring it into adulthood as a productive and  useful catalyst between himself and a hurting world.

A Womans Concern

Today we are proud to include A Woman's Concern in our group of supported organizations!

AWC Pregnancy Resource Centers exist to offer life-affirming counsel and support to women and couples facing an unexpected pregnancy. They hold a strong belief in the value of life and work to meet the needs of mothers and families while bringing a healthy new baby into the world. Even after the baby is born AWC is there to support and help the new mom. They supply clothes, diapers, bath needs and other necessities along with counseling and options for church families if they would like to join a church.

I was privileged to be able to attend AWC's 20th anniversary celebration last year and was so blessed to be  to meet and talk with a woman who had seen her baby welcomed into the world through the love and support of this organization. Her daughter is her greatest joy and had it not been for the work of AWC she never would have known her.

 In the twenty years that ACW has been serving Massachusetts they have saved over 1500 babies from abortion and helped as many women and families find the value and joy of a new life. 

  The services AWC provides include lab quality pregnancy testing, limited obstetrical ultrasounds, pregnancy options counseling, and material assistance. They are working to get three mobile ultrasound units on the road so they can reach even more women needing support and advice. I am hoping to be a part of making that happen

As with my other charities, I encourage you to support them on your own. The work they are doing is phenomenal and all the support and financial help they can get will go towards making a difference in the lives of women, families and, most of all, the beautiful children waiting to be born.

http://www.awcprc.org