Jewel Fashion Show

 

Join the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women for a fun, festive and inspiring evening as it furthers its mission to help women fashion brighter economic futures for themselves.

 

The JEWEL Fashion Show is July 14, at Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers Theatre Event Center. Festivities start at 6 p.m., with a VIP Reception, and the Fashion Show starts at 7p.m. The evening’s masters of ceremony will be Sports 9’s Dean Blevins and Dr. Susan Chambers.

Individual general admission tickets to the Fashion Show are $60 per person. Sponsorships are available $2,000 and above and include tickets to the VIP Cocktail Party and premium seating at the Fashion Show for 10 guests. Tickets are available online at ieew.org/register, or by calling 405-943-4474.

 

Event co-chairs are Jan Hill, owner of Eden Salons & Spa, and Cindi Shelby, owner of R Meyers.

 

Hill conceived the fashion show fundraiser five years ago as a PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® board member, with the goal of raising both awareness and funds for the program and showcasing the students’ beautiful, handcrafted jewelry and clothing items from Afghanistan and Rwanda.

Each year, the show has a different theme and vibe, and this year’s is “Embrace Diversity.”

 

The event will kick off with a showcase of Oklahoma City organizations which benefit women, including Suited for Success and the Downtown Y’s Livestrong program.

 

Clients from each will be featured as makeover models. Each model will experience a full hair and makeup transformation, compliments of Eden Salon & Spa, and then be fitted in fashions donated by Worth New York via stylist and owner of R Meyers Nichols Hills, Cindi Shelby.

 

The night of the fashion show, these women will walk the JEWEL runway to show off their new looks while a touching video presentation illustrates the before and after transformations.

 

Next, Brink Models and Oklahoma City Ballet dancers will walk the runway in the beautiful garments and accessories brought to us by PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® entrepreneurs from Afghanistan.

Manizha Wafiq, owner of Wonderland Woman, will showcase her new line of colorful jackets from the Saleeqa collection. A new twist on traditional jewelry made with semi-precious stones by Zohra Qobadi, Zohra Jena Handicraft Co, will accentuate the fashions.

This rainbow of summer styles will round out the evening and leave time for shopping the Pop-up Shop. Featured items include handicrafts and fashions for sale from Afghanistan and Rwanda, produced by 2015 PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® Leadership Development students visiting Oklahoma City during their mentorship part of the program.

 

“As the Institute approaches its tenth anniversary in 2016, the magnitude of what we have been able to accomplish in our first decade inspires and humbles me every single day,” said the Institute’s Founder and Executive Director, Terry Neese. “Our PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® initiative has empowered more than 500 individual women, who have in turn created more than 12,000 jobs in their countries.”

 

The Institute focuses its efforts in Afghanistan and Rwanda. The women it empowers come from all different backgrounds and own all different types of businesses, including: construction engineering firms, health clinics, handicrafts producers, farmers and Internet tech companies.

 

One of the most powerful components of the PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® Program is mentorship: students are paired with women business owners in the United States who guide them throughout the entire program.

 

IEEW and all of its work, including PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS®, are entirely funded by donations from the private sector. By donating to IEEW, whether by sponsoring, attending a fashion show, or by making a contribution at ieew.org, you become an agent of change in the quest for a more peaceful world society.

 

PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® is a flagship program created by IEEW that works directly with women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda. The mission is to educate women through three major components: in-country course work, Leadership Development and Train-the-Trainer.

 

Written by Heide Brandes