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Tuesday, October 6, 2009
By BOB AUDETTE
Reformer Staff
BRATTLEBORO — People having some old clothes from the 1960s laying around that they haven’t had the heart to part with, now’s their chance to donate them to a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. A Putney girl is planning a 1960s-era fashion show for Make-A-Wish, which grants the wishes of children afflicted by life-threatening illnesses. “I wanted to incorporate a fashion show into my community service,” said Marguerite Dooley, 15. “I’ve always been interested in fashion.”
With the help of the Vermont Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation,
Dooley learned how to get rolling on the fashion show. She had been to the Make-A-Wish office in Burlington but was disappointed to learn that no fundraisers for the foundation had taken place in Brattleboro for quite a while.
“I wanted to bring one to our region,” said Dooley, a 10th-grader.
“It’s great that kids are helping out children in their community,” said Hattie Johnson, the director of development for the Vermont chapter. “For Maggie to put on this fashion show and help them get that wish is really great.” Johnson said Make-A-Wish granted wishes in 10 counties this year. “But we don’t have a lot of representation in southern Vermont,” she said. “It’s gratifying she is reaching a demographic that we don’t reach.”
Dooley’s friend of 10 years, Sarah Levine, 15, of East Dummerston, is helping Dooley recruit fellow teenagers to model the clothes and with ideas for what kind of clothing they would like to see them wear. “I came to her first,” said Dooley. Though Levine knows how involved her friend is in community service, she was quite surprised by what Dooley had managed to accomplish on her own. “I was actually blown away by her organizing of it,” said Levine.” I’m proud of her.” “My friends thought I was crazy,” said Dooley. “But now they’re all excited.”
The six other girls Levine helped recruit are also in the 10th grade. Marguerite’s father, Larry Dooley, said his daughter has been involved in raising money for various causes for nearly a decade. Prior to the fashion show, his daughter had been raising money mainly for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
“She’s always done fundraisers, since first grade,” said Larry Dooley. “She’s always been community-service oriented.” To graduate from Brattleboro Union High School, all students need a certain amount of hours of community service. By the time she finished her freshman year at the school, she already had one-and-a-half times the hours she needed for her requirement, said Larry Dooley. Marguerite Dooley said her parents and her older sister inspired hereto become involved.
“My mom and dad have always been involved in community service and fundraisers,” she said.
Her half-sister, Lea Dooley, works for CARE, the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere. Her mom, Anna Potter, said it’s important that parents teach their children about community service. “The greater the sense of belonging, the deeper the feelings of ownership, the clearer it is to them that they can make a significant positive impact on the world around them and the more chance they have to believe in themselves and feel in control of their destiny,” said Potter. Potter added that she was very impressed and very proud of her daughter’s latest undertaking. “It’s bigger and a skill that involves many more moving parts and many more people,” she said.
Admission to the fundraiser is $20 for adults and $5 for students.
It’s scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center. The museum’s executive director, Danny Lichtenfeld, said the board of directors was glad to let Dooley use the museum for her fashion show.
“We think it’s people like Maggie Dooley who make ours a great community to live in,” he said. “Maggie decided she wanted to do something special to help those in need, and then she forged ahead fearlessly, organizing a fun event for a great cause.” Lichtenfeld said this is just one of the many ways the museum is involved in community activities. “When Maggie called and asked, we didn’t hesitate to say yes,” he said.