Fashion show raises money for recovery center
PENN TWP — Models walked down the runway Sunday afternoon, sporting clothing and outfits created and assembled in shops from all around Butler County.
While the fashion was forward at the second-ever fashion show hosted by the Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center, the real purpose of the event was to raise money for the addiction treatment organization’s programs and to pay for clients to stay at the center for as long as possible.
“We’re trying to sponsor people for their stays at the center so they can stay as long as they need to,” said Joe Mahoney, executive director of the Gaiser Center. “These funds will be used to offset those treatment costs so we can hopefully get more people into recovery.”
In 2019, administrators of the Gaiser Center were trying to implement more women’s support and fund a “serenity garden” for clients to unwind in. The resulting fundraiser, the initial fashion show, raised about $10,000, which funded the creation of the serenity garden.
On Sunday after more than two years of delays, the center hosted the second fashion show at Butler Country Club, which Mahoney said had a goal of exceeding the $10,000 raised at the first show.
Ave Jack, chairwoman of the fashion show committee, said the event was popular because of its unique pitch in the Butler County fundraising scene.
“It was something different we could do,” Jack said of the idea for the fashion show. “The original fundraiser was for the serenity garden, this time it’s to help get people in treatment.”
The event featured about 20 models who walked the runway in different outfits from seven clothing and accessory providers from Butler and Zelienople. An emcee described all of the clothing and accessories worn by the models, so attendees could check them out after the show.
Additionally, several vendors were set up at the country club to help bring more people to the event.
Jeff Double, a committeeman for the fashion show and owner of one of the vendors, All About Reclaimed, said he was happy to promote the event because his shop employs people who are in recovery.
“Not everyone is willing to hire someone who is going through addiction, or even recovery,” Double said. “We have some employees who have gone through recovery, and it really helps them ease back into the general population and find stability.”
Darlene Walker, team coordinator for Norwex, said the fashion show was her first time being involved with the Gaiser Center, and she supports its mission.
“It’s a great cause to support,” Walker said. “If you find an organization that helps people out through their addiction, it’s good to support it.”
Double said many people in Butler County have been supportive of the Gaiser Center, possibly because a lot of them know someone who has struggled with addiction.
“When you’ve seen what drugs and alcohol have done to someone, you see that you’ve got to be willing to help,” Double said.
The keynote speaker at the event was someone who has experienced the effects of drugs and alcohol firsthand.
Eric Hawthorne recently celebrated his 60th birthday, which he said is a milestone because some of his family, namely his mother, never thought he would reach that age.
Hawthorne spoke to the audience about his journey through alcoholism and addiction that started in his 20s and 30s and lasted until Jan. 7, 2020. He had been a touring singer for much of his life which he said continued enabling his bad habits, making it difficult to escape alcoholism.
Just three years ago, Hawthorne was homeless, but Sunday, he shared how happy he was to now be working at the Gaiser Center, where he reached sobriety.
“What this program has taught me — Gaiser, Alcoholics Anonymous — it’s all right to say ‘no,’ it’s all right to have boundaries, it’s all right to work on you,” Hawthorne said. “I stand before you now, I work at Gaiser, I have a car, I have clothes, I have friends.”
Mahoney said he hoped the fashion show and the attendance at the event encouraged people going through addiction that there are people who care, and there is a way out.
“We’re here today to celebrate recovery and recognize that recovery is possible,” Mahoney said. “If there is a loved one in your life, never lose hope. If you yourself are struggling with addiction, never lose hope, because it is possible.”
