A Night of Style for a Cause
On July 26, the Brubeck Room at the Wilton Library will be transformed into a veritable fashion runway, with models who will strut the catwalk for a cause. They will be outfitted in fashions from local boutique Blue Star Bazaar, accessories from Stella & Dot and glammed up with hair and makeup from Whip Salon. The event is also sponsored by GOOD Morning Wilton.
Ticket sales will benefit The Testaverde Fund for Spinal Cord Injury in support of Marshal Schoener, brother of Wilton resident, Randi McDonnell.
One year ago, Schoener was enjoying a party at his home to celebrate the birth of his daughter. At the end of the evening, he dove into his swimming pool and misjudged the deep area. This resulted in a broken neck at the c-4 and c-5 vertebrae and a severe spinal cord injury. He spent weeks in the ICU and on a respirator and was then transferred to Kessler Rehabilitation in New Jersey where he began a long and painful process of therapy. Schoener’s insurance will no longer pay for inpatient therapy and he has been released from rehab to recover at home with his wife and two daughters, ages 8 years and 17 months.
Schoener’s sister and Wilton resident, Randi McDonnell, has made it her mission to help and she is working with local Wilton businesses to put on the Fashion Forward event. Funds raised will help Schoener get the therapy he needs and purchase equipment for his in-home rehabilitation.
“This unfortunate accident has completely altered my brother’s life,” said McDonnell. “I want to raise money by doing something fun and exciting in which I could involve my community, because together we can really make an impact. I loved the idea of hosting a fashion show and when I approached my friends who own businesses here in Wilton, they immediately jumped on it and its been a wonderful team effort to bring this event to life. We look forward to a stylish evening where we’ll use fashion to ‘pay it forward’”.
Tickets are $65 (adults only, 21 and over) and entitle the ticket holder to a fabulous night of fashion, including light bites, two beverage tickets and attendance at the fashion show.
To purchase tickets or make a donation toward the cause, please visit www.bluestarbazaar.com
About the Testaverde Fund for Spinal Cord Injury Inc.
The Testaverde Fund for Spinal Cord Injury Inc. is a 501C3 federally tax exempt organization formed in 2003 as a means of raising funds for spinal cord injury research and providing community outreach and educational programs. The Fund is named after Joe Testaverde from Wantagh, Long Island. While Joe is lucky to be alive today, as a result from an injury, he is paralyzed from the waist down, and has lost dexterity in both hands. Joe is also the cousin of former NY Jets quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde. The Testaverde Fund supports research being done by The Spinal Cord Injury Project at the State University of New Jersey at Rutgers. In their labs, state of the art molecular, genetic and cellular research gives new hope to kids like Joe around the world, who dream of one day walking away from their wheel chairs.