“Galleria Dallas will present the 10th annual Fashion Stars for a Cause runway show and cocktail party benefiting the Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas Feb. 24 on the ice rink …. The runway show will highlight spring looks from Galleria Dallas retailers.”
Yes, the Galleria Dallas is hosting “Celebrat10n” to benefit Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas on February 24, on its ice rink with 500 expected to attend at $50 a pop. And, yes, there will be a fashion show with clothes from Galleria Dallas merchants. And, yes, the models will be both professional models and members of the Fashion Stars For a Cause ambassadors.
But it ain’t the big-time gala—and it ain’t Fashion Stars for a Cause’s 10th anniversary.
The actual Fashion Stars for a Cause gala including cocktails, seated dinner, a presentation of Belk fashions by the Fashion Stars for a Cause ambassadors (Sherice Lynette Brown, Francis Harrison Brito, Laura Fedock, Laurie Graham, Gina Marx, Kristy J. Morgan, Shelley Herrera-O’Neal, Shayema Rahim, Whitney Roberts-Kutch, Bridget Sommerlatte, Carmen Sargent and Amanda Ward) and the drawing for the raffle will take place on Friday, March 25, (aka Good Friday) at the Dallas Country Club. Tickets to the gala start at $250.
Another point that needs clearing up is the fact that this year will not be the “10th annual Fashion Stars for a Cause.” It will be number three.
The confusion may lie in the fact that it was 10 years ago that Suicide and Crisis Center’s Yvonne Crum created an event involving young women, fashions, a raffle, a speaker and dinner. It was called Fresh Faces of Fashion and she partnered up with Modern Luxury and Stanley Korshak. Being in the print business, Modern Luxury copyrighted the name and the event moved along for seven years benefiting Suicide and Crisis and featuring some of North Texas’ sweetest sweethearts, who diligently sold raffle tickets.
Then, a little over three years ago, Modern Luxury notified Yvonne that the decision had been made to change up the concept a bit. Instead of benefiting Suicide and Crisis, it would benefit different nonprofits, like the Salvation Army’s Echelon Group in 2014 and 2015 and the Wilkinson Center this year.
In typical Molly Brown fashion, Yvonne regrouped and started Fashion Stars for a Cause that still had all the elements of her brainchild — women, fashion, raffle, speaker and benefiting Suicide and Crisis. Joining her in her effort was the Galleria’s Belk.
Joining Belk’s support Galleria Dallas offered to hold the February 24th event the month before the biggy gala. However, their promotional materials included “10” in “Celebrat10n” and a release was issued reading,
“On February 24, Galleria Dallas will host Dallas’ fashion luminaries in a spectacular fashion show on the center’s noted ice rink benefiting the Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas. The festive event recognizes the 10th Anniversary of Fashion Stars for a Cause, the gala event created by Dallas philanthropist Yvonne Crum to Inspire Hope and Style.”
Suicide and Crisis Center’s “Celebrat10n” page
When asked about the confusion regarding the 10th anniversary of Fashion Stars for a Cause on the Suicide and Crisis Center website and in the Galleria’s promotion of “Celebrat10n,” Yvonne responded that she had been unaware of the event being called a 10th anniversary of Fashion Stars for a Cause. She had been promoting “10 years of Inspiring Hope and Style” and would advise Galleria officials of the misunderstanding and have the Suicide and Crisis Center’s website corrected. (UPDATE: The Suicide and Crisis Center’s website has been updated since this post was originally published.)
The great news is that North Texas has plenty of room for events that feature fashion, females and fundraising.
