For Jesslyn Field, a12-year-old student at Bothwell Middle School, fashion is a way for designers and models to express themselves through their clothing. It’s also an opportunity to try on some crazy clothes, she said.
“It’s always kind of funny to watch the clothes designers come up with,” Field said.
ield, along with other teenagers at the Lake Superior Village Youth and Family Center (LSV) will join volunteers from NMU to model in the Project Compassion Show, a charity event to raise money for the LSV. The event is hosted by NMU’s Public Relation Student Society of America (PRSSA) and will showcase fashion from local designers Silver Crow and Lanni Lantto, as well as larger retail clothing stores such as Kohl’s, Maurices and Younkers.
he Project Compassion Fashion Show is in its first year running, and is part of an annual fundraising push by the PRSSA each winter semester. This year, the organization chose to raise money for the LSV, a youth center that caters to low income families in the Marquette area.
“A good number of parents are either at work or school themselves when their kids leave school. This program gives parents time to (work),” said Karen Kasprzak, the director of the LSV center.
he youth center is geared toward children 5-17 years of age, and has been effective in keeping children who would previously have been unsupervised after school out of trouble, Kasprzak said. In the last three years, juvenile crime has reduced because of the center, she said.
“Statistically if a child gets into trouble, it’s between 2:30 and 6 p.m., the time between the release of school and when parents start coming home from work. Our center is crucial in keeping those children out of trouble,” Kasprzak said.
s a non-profit organization that is offered to parents free of charge, the LSV center requires between $60,000 and $80,000 a year in donations to keep running, she said. The fact that PRSSA was able to find a way to get the kids involved in the fashion show was exciting as well, Kasprzak said.
“It’s awesome when an organization comes in and advocates for the kids. They are pumped up,” Kasprzak said.
eaching out into the community and making connections is the goal of the PRSSA, said firm director Jaime Carter, who is PRSSA’s liaison between the organizations they fundraise for.
“Every year we pick a local non-profit to fundraise for. The (LSV) seemed like a good organization, so we presented it the board and they accepted it,” Carter said.
he fundraising goal for this event is $2,000, but all money raised will be matched in full by the Marquette County Housing Commission, for a total goal of $4,000. Volunteering is an essential part of the PRSSA, Carter said.
“We do a lot of community service work and volunteer projects, including volunteering for President Obama’s visit. That’s kind of what public relations is for, making connections in the community,” she said.
ield, who has been going to the LSV center for three years, enjoys having volunteers at the youth center, mainly because of the fun activities they bring with them. Field aspires to one day be a hairdresser, but she also enjoys walking down the runway.
“I’m really excited to go try on new clothes and model. I’ll definitely be doing my hair for the show,” she said.
he Project Compassion Fashion show will be held on Saturday, April 2 in the Great Lakes Rooms in the University Center. Raffle prizes range from a dinner for two at the Upfront and Company to two tickets to see any performance at the Island Resort and Casino. Tickets are free of charge to all NMU students with ID, and will cost $5 for non-students. All proceeds benefit the Lake Superior Village Youth and Family Center.
