The Barrington High School Students behind this week’s third annual Hope’s in Style fashion show fundraiser raised a record $43,306 which will enable them to build six new homes this summer for families who live and work in and around Guatemala City’s garbage dump.
Sunday’s show at the Stonegate Banquet and Conference Center featured over fifty student models, sylists and volunteers, drawing an audience of more than 300 guests. 365Barrington TV reporter Tommy Derken talked with the crowd and shares more about the cause.
All of the runway looks were inspired by photographs taken during the group’s past Guatemala City service trips. Stylist Brooke Barry with model Colleen Kelch placed first for their look in this year’s show, thanks to judges Karen Darch (Barrington Village President), Nick Sauer (Lake County Board Member), Regina Verdico (Deer Park Town Center Marketing Director) and Illinois Senator, Dan Duffy.
365Barrington photographer, Gus Goetze, captured still photos of the runway, models and guests.
And I took a closer look at the numbers to put this fundraising feat in perspective.
At $43,306, that’s more than DOUBLE what these young teens raised in 2014 and it’s up from $17,000 raised in 2013, the show’s inaugural year. Their efforts in the past three years add up to a total of more than $81,000 in funds raised to-date.
Hope’s in Style co-founder Courtney Quigley, now a Freshman at New York University, says when she learned the total amount raised on Sunday, she was blown away. “I think the success truly speaks to the cause and shows how much people realize that something needs to be done about the situation in Guatemala City. It’s just a huge testament to people’s compassion and the philanthropy that’s in Barrington.” (CLICK HERE to read more about how Hope’s in Style got started.)
Since we’re talking about numbers, according to Courtney Quigley, more than 13,000 people live and work in and around the city’s garbage dump, and nearly 50% of them are children. This summer, 80 Barrington area volunteers will head to Guatemala in 2 separate service trips being organized through the “Hope’s In” initiative. With the money raised this week, and at a cost of roughly $7,500 per house, the volunteers can now afford to build 6 new homes, bringing the total number of homes built by this group in three years to 11!
The fashion show has passed, but the fundraising continues. You can make a donation to Hope’s In and find more information about joining the group during one of their service trips to Guatemala City this summer at HopesInStyle.com.
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