By Ashley M. Casey
Staff Writer
With models ranging from ages 11 to 96, the annual Dress to Impress fashion show returns this Saturday. The annual fashion show is a fundraiser for Baldwinsville Meals on Wheels.
“The support of the community is amazing when we have a fundraiser,” said Donna Metz, director of B’ville MOW. “This is our second-largest fundraiser. Our largest is our annual plea letter.”
The fashion show raises roughly $2,000 for B’ville MOW annually. Christopher & Banks and CJ Banks provide the ensembles for the runway, and businesses such as Olive’s Eatery, the B’ville Diner and Home Depot donate gift certificates and gift baskets to raffle off.
Metz said Dress to Impress features about 14 to 16 models — some of them community volunteers, some of them MOW clients — and draws more than 100 attendees each year.
“Last year, it was standing room only,” Metz said.
B’ville MOW relies heavily on donations to serve its 102 clients in its vast coverage area, which includes not only the village, Lysander and Van Buren, but also parts of Liverpool, Phoenix, Jack’s Reef, Warners and even Cross Lake.
“People think we just deliver to Baldwinsville,” Metz said. “No, we deliver all over the place.
B’ville MOW’s 120 active volunteers are a lifeline for clients, Metz said. For many homebound clients, a Meals on Wheels driver might be their only social interaction. Some drivers go above and beyond by driving their clients to doctor’s appointments, picking up groceries or shoveling snow.
“We’re like family,” Metz said. “You get very attached.”
Metz said the fashion show is popular with its attendees.
“The ladies just love it,” she said. “Every year when we get done, they go, ‘When’s the next one?’”
The Dress to Impress fashion show takes place from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at Canton Woods Senior Center, 76 Canton St., Baldwinsville. Admission is $9 and includes all-you-can-eat refreshments. For more information, call (315) 638-2171.
If you are unable to attend the fashion show but still would like to donate to B’ville MOW, visit bvillemow.com.
