Both two- and four-legged models graced the runway Saturday to help raise money for animal welfare.
UNC’s Helping Paws held a fundraising fashion show Saturday night in the Student Union to benefit the Orange County Animal Services Center.
The group sold more than 200 tickets, the money from which will go to the center’s spay-and-neuter initiatives.
“The idea has been circulating several years” said Alex Lane, a co-chairwoman of Helping Paws. “Originally it was an all-dog fashion show, but there is a limited number of dogs on campus.”
Helping Paws is a student-run club in the Campus Y dedicated to improving the lives of animals. In the past, the organization has worked with the county animal services center, Bayou Rescue and Carolina Pet Rescue.
Volunteers can walk dogs, socialize cats, promote adoption of pets and raise awareness about animal welfare issues.
“We’re trying to come out of our shell and doing bigger things,” said Ariel Press, a member of the organization.
The event was the first of its kind, and the club hopes to hold more fashion shows, Lane said. In the future, the organization might partner with other groups to get a larger turnout.
“I wish we had more people, but it was the first one. It went well for that,” Lane said. “We may modify it in the future, maybe more dogs, maybe campus celebrities.”
Lane said there were 30 models, including some who walked with dogs.
Many of the models were friends of club members and represented larger campus organizations like sororities, men’s tennis, men’s track and field and the ski and snowboard club.
The event featured a silent auction, selling items like pottery,
UNC sports merchandise and a basketball signed by the 2010-2011 basketball team and coach Roy Williams.
Cadence, the all-female a cappella student group, also performed after the show.
“It was a lot of preparation, more than we anticipated,” said Ashley Russo, the organization’s co-chairwoman. “But there was positive feedback from the community.”
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
