Stanford Charity Fashion Show

Stanford Charity Fashion Show is a student run organization at Stanford University. The organization hosts many events during the year which culminates in one large diversity fashion show featuring varied designers. The profit of the show goes to an annually selected charity. The 2008 Stanford Charity Fashion Show took place on May 1, 2008. The 2009 show is scheduled for May 2nd, 2009 [www.myspace.com/charityfashionshow] .

Mission

(The Following comes from the Charity Fashion Show Website)
As a student organization, Charity Fashion Show serves non-profit organizations that work to promote the importance of ethnic and cultural diversity and that seeks to provide services to needy populations. These organizations have the resources and manpower to affect change and construct global communities and Charity Fashion Show relies on these organizations to successfully work towards social equality. Thus, Charity Fashion Show understands its role as a fundraiser for such organizations and assumes this role by producing various events, such as holiday fundraisers, clothing auctions, and a campus-wide student-organized fashion show, all of which attract our collegiate peers and their families. With these events, we have the opportunity to educate the student body about the values of ethnic diversity and understanding and provide options on how they too can further the progress towards a culturally diverse and tolerant global community.

1) To raise a sizable charity donation for a selected nonprofit organization that works to i) bridge social gaps, ii) encourage ethnic diversity, and iii) promote ethnic and cultural sensitivity and communication through charitable and/or advocacy work in our immediate and global community.
2) To advocate for diversity in the fashion and entertainment industry and to provide social empowerment for those involved.
3) To offer an ethnically diverse experience as well as an open and safe forum in which to discuss racially charged issues in order to build social consciousness throughout the student body.
4) To educate the student body and work towards campus-wide ethnic diversity and kinship.
[http://charityfashionshow.stanford.edu/mission.html]

History

Originally, AASA (Asian American Student Organization) Fashion Show, Charity Fashion Show (CFS) began as an event showcasing collections by Asian American designers and promoting diversity within the Stanford Asian American community in 1991. As the event took off and began to expand, focus shifted from the Stanford Asian American community and the event became a runway for national and global issues facing Asian American and other minority groups, in particular, the problem of sweatshop labor.
In 2007 Charity Fashion Show remained with AASA to produce the 15th Annual Show, only the organization became strongly committed to ethnic diversity beyond the Asian American community.
In 2008, under head coordinators Wayne Hwang and Dani Zhao, Charity Fashion Show left AASA to be hosted by SPEACK (Students promoting ethnic and cultural kinship), a diversity organization at Stanford University. The 2008 show was sponsored by many major ethnic groups on campus. As of late 2008, Charity Fashion Show has become its own student organization and plans on self-hosting its 17th annual Charity Fashion Show. [http://charityfashionshow.stanford.edu/history.html]

2008

The 2008 Fashion Show Campaign featured a Valentine's Day Fundraiser [http://charityfashionshow.stanford.edu/publicity.html] , and the show itself "Fashion Without Borders" on May 1st, 2009 [http://charityfashionshow.stanford.edu/publicity.html] . The 2008 charity was Doctors Without Borders. The show was also broadcast live on ustream.com [http://www.ustream.com]

2009

The 2009 Fashion Show Campaign is expected to be the largest in the university's history. Scheduled for May 2nd, 2009, the show will also include a banquet dinner the night before, and a post-show celebration after the show. [www.myspace.com/charityfashionshow] Also expected is the Valentine's fundraiser, and a clothing pre-sale a few weeks before the show.

External Sources

[http://www.stanford.edu/charityfashionshow] Stanford Charity Fashion Show Webpage [http://www.myspace.com/charityfashionshow] Charity Fashion Show's Myspace Page