By Justin Grant
This past Sunday, April 2, Greenwich High School students came out swinging in style on the runway to raise awareness and show support for breast cancer at the Breast Cancer Alliance Annual Teen Fashion Show at Richards.
The event is in its 13th year.
The street-styled teenagers came out dressing classy wearing natty blazers and hip shoes to wearing elegant dresses and dazzling heels.
One student, Mat Alios from Brunswick School, was excited about dressing fancy to support this important cause.
“It’s pretty cool and pretty funny that I get to try on different clothes from inside the store,” said Alios.
The Co-Chair of the event, Dee Mayberry, took a different stance on the importance of participating in the event. She emphasized that it’s very important for the community to actually have an event where they come together to support the teenagers and give back “because everyone has been touched by breast cancer.”
When asked why she made this an annual event, she noted that teenagers graduate every year and are getting older, and she felt optimistic that more young teenagers will participate in this event if it is an annual one.
Similarly, the incoming President of the Breast Cancer Alliance (BCA), Mary Jeffery, praised the students for their leadership and involvement in giving back to the community.
“Every year new students join the junior committee and they come in with some great new ideas on ways to raise money for breast cancer research and to raise awareness,” she said.
One of those new students is Courtney Riddle who interned at Breast Cancer Alliance last summer and remains committed to giving back to the community, especially because her family dealt with breast cancer.
In addition, her friend, Natasha Weis, a student at Green Farms Academy, felt excited and thrilled walking down the runway knowing that she was making a huge difference in the world.
“I mean it’s definitely exciting, a lot of preparation goes into participating in the event, and it’s my second year being part of this event,” Weis said. “I am on the committee so we have been preparing for this for a while and it’s a ton of work.”
The host of the event, Scott Mitchell, a spokesperson for Richards, felt honored and privileged to support the cause, but felt that the students went above and beyond to make this day possible.
“The hard work and the real magic of the day was the kids pulling this entire thing together; they ran the show, they came in and tried on the clothes, they are the ones who came in and tried on the clothes, they are the ones who came in and got their hair done, and they are the ones who set everything up,” Mitchell said.
He explained that the junior breast cancer alliance serves a lot of purposes, including giving young adults a chance to get involved in philanthropy.
“We are just honored to be part of it,” Mitchell said.
He even went on to say, humbly, “In being a sponsor, we actually played the smaller role.”
