Fashion Forward Fridays: Fashion for Smiles

Hoping you all had a fantastic holiday and are enjoying some down-time now. While you're relaxing, please enjoy reading about this fabulous, up-and-coming non-profit, currently located in Pittsburgh called Fashion for Smiles, and how you can get involved with helping their mission! Here's an interview with the co-founders of Fashion for Smiles, Kyle van der Kemp and Kristen Tomkosky.

Tell us what Fashion for Smiles is all about.
Fashion for Smiles is a nonprofit (application pending) company that is changing children's lives through fashion. We've strategically aligned with two incredible charities, Operation Smile and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. We are set to host various fashion related events throughout the year, which all leads up to the Pittsburgh Smile Gala in September 2014. We are also in the process of developing the Smile Fund at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, which is designed to help any family with a child suffering from a facial deformity, by completely covering the cost of surgery and other medical expenses.

Why did you create this non-profit & what motivated you to do so?
Kristen and I started Fashion for Smiles because of our love of children and passion for helping those in need. We both have a huge interest in fashion, which is what drove us to create an organization that combined fashion and philanthropy. ‎‎

Peace'burgh: Love the Homeless

photo credit.

Last week, my brother and I volunteered with a few other members of our church, Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community, to make, pack up and deliver about 30 lunches to homeless people around Pittsburgh. First thing's first, I am not writing this post to gain attention about "doing a good deed" or get a pat on the back through comments below. I'm writing this to make you aware of a common misconception that many people have about this overwhelmingly large part of our population.

We went to about five local spots where some people are known to be living, near various neighborhoods. Places that you probably wouldn't even think to look or if you were near, which if you frequent Pittsburgh, you've probably been near, and never noticed. I know that a lot of people often see homeless people out and about asking for money and only think that they want it for drugs or alcohol, which for some, is true. But some genuinely need your help. I think on Saturday, we saw both sides.

Either way, they are all people who needed a bottle of water and a sandwich, along with some other goodies, and a conversation. I don't really know what I'm trying to say. Besides maybe, give some of those people you see on the street something more than a smug look or abrupt "no" before leaving them in the dust. As a student, I got used to carrying around extra fruit and random snacks because I often don't have chance to run home for a meal, and quite a few times those snacks went to people on the street who asked for money for food. So there are easy little ways you can help. You can go to Hot Metal to volunteer, every Saturday at noon, walk in Tunch & Wolf's Walk for the Homeless, help out at a homeless shelter or you could purposefully carry around fruit. Above all, just know that they aren't all the kind of people you think they might be. Just like anyone else you might meet. The best you can do is just love them.

FUNDS: Let's talk about money!

While I type this, Bills, Bills, Bills by Destiny's Child is running a loop in my head...coincidence? Last night, I was able to attend a great little event to really kick off Homeless Children's Awareness Week. Granted, I was pretty much hounded into going by Isaac, who was one of the speakers, and Trent, who was the MC, but I am so glad that I was able to go.

Logo for HCEF.

The event, FUNDS: True Stories About Money, was an evening of first-person storytelling and was beyond entertaining. It was held at James Street Gastropub and Speakeasy, which was a perfect venue with a great vibe and wonderful food and drinks. And while I may (okay I do) have a biased opinion, I loved Isaac's story the most but also adored that so many people participated in telling their hilarious, thought provoking and heartwarming stories. From learning about the generosity of a man in Haiti, the feeling of bouncing checks, finding a prostitute's jump-drive, figuring out the best gifts from boys usually aren't expensive...or in that storyteller's case, expected, and of course, Isaac's tales of growing up on a farm, each story connected back in some way to money and how the storyteller related to it at some point in their lives. It was interesting to hear so many different stories especially when all I could think about was how I was spoiled with money and other blessings (like a cleaning lady for our house) growing up and now am figuring out ways to pay for everything myself. Thanks for that reality check!

FUNDS was organized by Homeless Children's Education Fund. Which raises awareness of HCEF's efforts on behalf of youth experiencing homelessness in Allegheny County. Trent gave a lot of statistics that were very shocking to me and he mentioned ways to volunteer to help the cause, which is something I may look in to in the future because, like Trent said last night, it is hard to imagine that so many children face homelessness when we usually think of adults as the only people dealing with this issue. Homelessness in general is a topic that I plan on bringing up in the series of Peace'burgh, so I'm sure you'll be hearing about this event again from me, I thought it was absolutely fabulous and a great way to talk about something that usually people do not like to mention.

There are a couple more events this week coming from the HCEF if you want to check them out! Including an art installation/performance art piece called "Stand Up." This is a volunteer-based event where volunteers will be holding up pictures of actual homeless children in the area over their own faces (like a mask) and stand outside of Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall for a moment of silence to portray the statistics and to act as a symbol for the children in Allegheny County facing homelessness. There will also be food from Franktuary provided afterwards for volunteers, which is reason enough to help out. Also, for those of you steel city runners out there, HCEF is also hosting a 5K Run/Walk at North Park on Saturday. This is a great cause to become involved with and this week is a perfect time to do so!

Give Back to the 'Burgh

Summer is a great time to relax and take a breather. But it is also the best time to help out someone in need, so that they can relax a bit more too. Since about the sixth grade I have been addicted to volunteering. Whether it was small projects at my church to traveling the U.S. to rebuild houses, I have done it all. But there are still so many people who need a little extra help and especially for you college-aged readers, there is no better time then now for you guys to get involved!

Here are a few places in the city that are worth your time, I've tried to provide a variety to appeal to different interests. Now, of course there are many more organizations that you might feel more passionate about out there, but this is just to get the idea in your minds and get you guys looking into your summer plans. And all of these are worthy of your support and they are right here in Pittsburgh! So you could be easily helping your neighbors, which in turn makes this city even better.


Family House Pittsburgh

http://www.familyhouse.org

This is an organization that helps families who have loved-ones in the hospital for extended amounts of time. Currently they are set up as four different houses which were converted from old mansions, locker rooms and office buildings to create welcoming and beautiful rooms for families to stay in together. Family House supports families going through stress of medical issues. Since Pittsburgh is becoming a booming center for medicine, this organization has taken notice to the fact that not only Pittsburghers are coming here for treatment and these homes offer a place for families to live at a low cost while their loved ones are being treated in nearby hospitals. This gives families the ability to stay together, not spend outrageous amounts of money on transportation or hotels and gives a comforting and comfortable place to stay for the night instead of hospital chairs. There are a variety of ways to volunteer at any of their facilities and I'm sure your help and caring attitude would not go unnoticed!

Dress for Success Pittsburgh

http://www.dressforsuccess.org

I love the mission of this organization! Their main location is right in the heart of downtown, but they also have offices in Uniontown and Washington, Pa. This organization helps women in two ways; 1) the take donations of professional clothing for their clients who would otherwise not be able to afford them and 2) they help them to find jobs and then figure out how to balance those jobs with their already busy lives. I love that this organization is helping women in Southwestern Pa. Especially since if you read my post about Equal Pay Day, you know that women in this region are being paid horribly compared to their male counterparts. Dress for Success can use volunteers from simply donating clothes, to answering phones to being a client consultant and being able to help a client one-on-one. What better way to help this city grow than by helping to get more people out in the work-force?

Big Brothers Big Sisters

http://www.bbbspittsburgh.org

This organization is pretty much the most well known volunteer organization that I could think of and I am also currently going through the process of becoming a Big so I felt compelled to put this one on the list. Through this organization you can become a mentor to a child in the area. Basically, you hang out with a great kid for a few hours a month and be on call to support them if they need you. As a former full-summer camp counselor, I can promise you that there is no greater thing to become involved with than a child. Every single day I remember something a camper said to me or did in the past and realize that by being with them I learned more than I ever could teach. I cannot wait to become a Big.

Tree Pittsburgh

http://treepittsburgh.org

For those of you who are openly tree-huggers, this one's for you. Tree Pittsburgh is an organization that is committed to planting and maintaining trees around the city. They have a special Tree Tenders course that you must complete before becoming a member but this is a great organization to be involved with during the summer. (Work on your tan and help a great cause - those are my favorite kind of summer volunteer opportunities!) This organization is so intriguing to me because it's helping to grow Pittsburgh in a different way then the typical urban volunteer program - it is literally helping growth through trees. And while I love being a "city-liver," it is always great seeing some green around. Real trees are always welcomed in a concrete jungle in my opinion!


Habitat for Humanity of Greater Pittsburgh

http://www.pittsburghhabitat.org

This one pretty much goes without saying but I love Habitat for Humanity. I have been involved with various chapters of this organization throughout college thanks to the Griffins at Work Club we had at Seton Hill, which gave me most of my travel volunteer experience but also through the Greensburg chapter because it was so convenient to help them while attending Seton Hill for my undergrad. Habitat builds homes for families in need, but what I love most about them is that they require the families to help on their homes as well as others to pay off their "sweat equity." Being able to get your hands dirty while building a home for someone, while working right next to them is an indescribable experience that I would suggest anyone to take advantage of.



Like I said, there are plenty more organizations that are willing to take you on as a volunteer, especially throughout Pittsburgh and you can find many more through Pittsburgh Cares. Where there is a need, there is certainly some organization trying to help, and that organization needs people like you to continue to operate! So get out there this summer to jump start your new volunteer project and try to maintain it all year round - you will be thanked in one way or another and every experience is more than worth it!