Sherman Avenue United Methodist Church, a multicultural community of faith on Madison’s North Side, will host a fashion show on Saturday, Oct. 17, 3-5 p.m., to raise awareness and funds for domestic violence awareness.
Michelle McKoy, director of the Bridge Lake Point Winona Neighborhood Center, will serve as the emcee of the fashion show, which will feature church members and community members, and will also be a celebration of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The event will include speakers who will educate attendees about domestic violence.
“The fashion show will raise money for domestic awareness, because it’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Some of the models in the fashion show will be domestic survivors, but not all of them,” McKoy tells Madison365. “We will also have some kids who will participate in the fashion show, so that is exciting.”
The fundraiser will also feature a raffle and a chance to browse Sherman Church’s 2nd Hand Chic Boutique, which offers people in the church and the community a chance to look through a wide variety of clothes, jewelry and accessories and take home what they like free of charge.
This will be the first time Sherman Church has hosted this fashion show, McKoy says.
“A couple of weeks ago, [Sherman Church] Pastor Dave [Hart] had reached out to me and asked me if I wanted to be a part of the fashion show, and I thought he wanted me to be one of the models,” McKoy remembers. “So I was like, ‘Sure, I’ll be one of the models.’ And he’s like, ‘No, we want you to host it.’ I was a little shocked because I had never emceed or hosted an event like this before. But I was also really excited to do it.
“Along with a deejay and a guest speaker, we are looking to have some resources from other domestic abuse organizations there at the fashion show,” McKoy continues. “And for each model that will come down the runway, we’re going to have a short bio about them and they will give us two different looks. They’re going to have a fall look, and then they’re going to have a winter look that they will be showing.”
(Photo by A. David Dahmer)
The fashion show is free and open to the public, but it will also serve as a fundraiser.
“While we will be accepting donations to move domestic violence awareness forward, the show is entirely free. We intend to donate funds to causes that move that mission forward,” Sherman Church Rev. David Hart tells Madison365.
October was first declared as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in 1989. Domestic violence is prevalent in every community and affects all people regardless of age, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, or nationality, according to The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, and an average of 20 people are physically abused by intimate partners every minute.
Caitlin McGahan, executive minister at Sherman Church, has been doing much of the planning of Saturday’s fashion show to raise money for domestic violence awareness.
“I have been doing things much more behind the scenes for the fashion show. But I’m looking forward to pretty much speaking from the heart and letting people know more about me and why I believe this event is very important,” McKoy says. “I am a domestic abuse survivor. I know how hard it is to come out and talk about that. It took me 12 years to come out publicly, and I came out, and when I spoke out, it was not the normal way. But when I did come out, I was strong enough to handle a lot of the things that went with speaking out.”
Sherman United Methodist Church is located at 3705 N. Sherman Ave.
“I’m really excited and honored to be part of this experience,” McKoy says. “And I hope a lot of people will come out not only to raise money but also to raise awareness about domestic abuse.”
