Chez Couture

Good Afternnon!

On Sept 30th, you may remember that I attended the Florida Hospital Kick-Off to Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Winter Park. I ended up staying past my appearance time and met a wonderful woman named Heidi Stone. I was

introduced to her by my contact Sam O'lenick and from there things took off. It turned out that Heidi was involved with the Foundation For Foster Children located in Edgewater. I explained to her that I did not know much about the foster care system, but that I was wanting to learn more being that my platform is Children Causes. At that moment, she invited me to participate in the runway show for the 2nd Annual Chez Couture event.

Well that event was this morning! I woke up bright and early to be at the Renaissance at Lake Ivanhoe by 7:45am to meet with the people of Aveda (pictured below) who were doing the models hair and makeup.

I was so fortunate to be dressed by Tuni in Winter Park. I was able to model 2 designs on the runway and one design while mingling during the event. All three dresses were GORGEOUS! I wish I could have taken them all home! The purple dress above was stunning and the sequin cocktail below are my school's colors (UCF). In the picture with me is Jess from Tuni.

From there I met my modeling partner! I was matched up with the most handsome,sweetest young man named Jonathon. He is a 13 year old 7th grader at Conway Middle School, but if you were to meet him you would assume he was at least 16. Jonathon has been in the foster care system for a while now and he is a shining example of what happens when a community embraces the children in the foster care system. The people who know him best describe him as shy, intelligent, and a hard worker. He is on the Honor Roll and participates in leadership activities. Once he opens up, you will find him to be very witty as I witnessed throughout the morning. He dreams of being an author of mystery/science fiction novels.

Jonathon was not the only foster child in attendance. In fact, everyone excluding myself who participated in the show was either a foster child or foster parent. I had the honor of listening to their bios and hearing their amazing stories. These children/families have touched my heart and I will always remember them.

After the event, it was time to eat :) I was able to mingle with those who watched the show as well as check out the artwork that was on display. The foster children had previously participated in an art project where they made self portraits. There assignment was to use color to reflect the idea of 'control versus freedom' in their life. As you can see, these kids are incredibly talented and wise beyond their years. The first picture was created by William.

William's Story

The next Self Portrait was created by Dominic.

Dominic's Story

Today was an eye-opening appearance for me. I have a deep respect for the foster care system and I admire those who are able to accept a perfect stranger into their family as one of their own. To give that child the love, care, shelter, and acceptance needed to perservere through their obstacles and suceed in life. To learn more, visit http://www.foundationforfosterchildren.org/

Love Always,
Megan Clementi
Miss Florida USA 2010

P.S. As I was exiting the event today, my dad and I could not figure out what all the commotion was outside. Ivanhoe was shut down to I-4 so we had to take back roads home. As I was writing you, my boyfriend called from Miami to ask if I was alright. Apparently while this selfless foundation was doing wonders for our community, a gunman barged into an office building and shot 6 people (one died, a 26 year old male from West Palm Beach). This incident happens mear blocks from where I was today. As of now, I do not know anyone involved but please keep the families of the victims in your thoughts. If you are interested in learning more, tune into Fox News or CNN. So sad :(