First Facility Fashion Show with HOPE

This past March, HOPE Mentoring hosted its first fashion show at Madison Juvenile Correctional Facility (MJCF). This event was one of the Stepping Out workshops the HOPE organization has been implementing at MJCF. The workshops aim to give girls a chance to both practice their employment skills and connect with community supports and resources. The fashion show was very successful and enjoyable not only for the girls in the facility but also for the numerous volunteers and facility workers.

The main purpose of the fashion show and presentation was to show the girls how to properly present themselves, either during a professional job interview or in the workplace. Several mentors and mentees dressed up in their best work attire, donated by local community organizations, and modeled professionals outfits on the runway to the other girls in the facility.

Several different organizations and many individuals donated business clothing for the Fashion Show. These donations will kickstart the initiative for a donations-based business wardrobe for MJCF. Mentees who participated as models in the fashion show will get to take their business suits home when they are released from MJCF, and the remaining donations will find a temporary home in the wardrobe until they are chosen by other girls transition home. The hope is that each girl leaves MJCF with an appropriate outfit to seek employment so they can put their best foot forward.

We want to thank all of those that helped make this day possible for the girls--My Sister's Closet, Sally's, Indiana University residence halls, individual clothing donors, and the MJCF facility for working so closely with us. We truly could not have done it without the help of our community.

For more information about Stepping Out workshops, read our blog posts about the Career and College Fair here.