Almost Famous

Restoration Runway weaves
together fashion, healing and hope

host of A-list celebrities will descend on the Greensboro Country Club, March 30, for the eighth annual Restoration Runway Fashion Show and Auction. Everyone from The Rock to Dolly Parton will sashay down the catwalk . . . Or, wait . . . Look closer . . . Is that really Dolly?

Turns out these “celebs” will be local lookalikes, donating their time to help out Restoration Place Counseling (RPC), a local faith-based nonprofit that, since 2005, has provided girls, women and couples with discounted counseling services. The runway show helps RPC to fund half of the 7,000 professional counseling sessions completed each year.

Your faithful scribe found last year’s event so inspiring, she’ll be back this year. So expect to see yours truly walking in the show (shhhh . . . it’s a secret!). The women involved have such amazing stories of courage and determination, it will be hard to contain my enthusiasm — or hold back the tears —at evening’s end, when, everyone is on their feet, singing, clapping and celebrating each other.

In addition to the catwalk, the event features a sprawling silent auction (including local artists’ wares, theater and dinner packages, and luxe furniture), plus heavy hors d’oeuvres and sparkling libations. On stage, models strike poses intermingled with other fun musical acts. There will even be an appearance by the King, himself — “Elvis Presley.”

For fashionistas, the event poses a double threat to the pocketbook, as they can not only bid on silent auction items, they can also make notes about which looks they like the best, and then go find them at the local boutiques lending the outfits. Wise spending, considering their hard-earned dollars support local businesses and a worthy cause, as Cindy Mondello, RPC founder and executive director points out.

“This event goes beyond one night,” she says. “It’s about the future of Restoration Place Counseling. It’s about the future of hundreds of girls and women finding hope and healing.”  OH

Follow the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/restorationplacecounseling/ for up-to-the-minute updates and behind-the-scenes posts. There may even be a guess-the-celebrity contest for free tickets and prizes. For more information about the Restoration Runway event or to learn more about Restoration Place Counseling, visit www.rpcounseling.org.

— Waynette Goodson

Recommended Posts