Gwen Beloti and Volunteers Make 100 Dresses for Little Girls in Africa

    NEW YORK, NY, June 26, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On Saturday June 20th at BAX Arts Exchange Studio in Brooklyn, New York, designer Gwen Beloti, organized a group of volunteers to make 100 dresses in support of the not-for-profit organization, Little Dresses for Africa (LDFA). By way of Gwen Beloti's namesake womenswear brand, in collaboration with 19 volunteers the team produced 102 dresses in a six hour span for LDFA.

LDFA is a Christian based organization that provides relief to children in Africa and other countries across the world. LDFA distributes dresses made out of pillowcases to orphanages; churches and schools to bring promise and hope to young girls. To date, LDFA has received well over 300,000 little dresses and distributed to 31 countries in Africa.

Gwen Beloti Collection founded in 2008 has collaborated with the founder of LDFA Rachel O'Neill on small projects over the years in support of the organization. LDFA has made amazing strides including but not limited to clothing thousands and thousands of girls and now boys in addition to providing other support for these children in need.

On "Giving Tuesday" 2014 Gwen Beloti pledged to make 100 dresses for LDFA. Giving Tuesday nationally and now globally recognized was created to promote giving back and generosity. It is a movement to create a national day of giving at the beginning of the Christmas and holiday season.

June 20th 2015 Gwen Beloti hosted the event 100 Dresses for Little Dresses for Africa. It was due only to the efforts of the volunteers and donators that the goal was met. These 102 dresses will now be disseminated to less fortunate little girls across the world where they're needed. Although the organization is not able to pinpoint exactly where the dresses will be shipped, according to founder Rachel O'Neill, currently due to necessity majority of dresses are being shipped to Malawi, Kenya, and Ghana. What each of these countries has in common is the color red in their flags. All volunteers on Saturday were invited to wear a hint of red to promote a sense of solidarity, unity and community. The room was decorated in red and black and refreshments were available for the volunteers throughout the day.

Collectively as a group determined to meet its goal of making 100 dresses, Gwen Beloti and a team of 19 volunteers were able to deliver on the promise made on Giving Tuesday and produce not 100 but 102 dresses. The project was organized in the form of an assembly line consisting of various stations with very specific and vital tasks, starting with cutting all the way to embellishing and pressing. "Our motivation was the goal at hand; we kept count throughout the day and worked accordingly. We were having fun and networking but we were most certainly working" Gwen Beloti.

The volunteers used trimmings such as laces, buttons, pockets, bows and ribbons to decorate the dresses formerly known as pillow cases. These beautiful dresses that were made started out as simple, plain not very exciting bed decor. The end result however did not resemble any of those characteristics; the finished pieces were quite special and unique.

Every volunteer whether they had a design background or not was most certainly a designer on Saturday. "We were all a part of a production team working with a hard deadline." Gwen Beloti

Many of the volunteers were Gwen Beloti customers and followers who are familiar with the brands' missions and goals, one of which is to encourage young women to continue to strive for excellence, to be proud of their achievements and to know that they can be fashionable, cool and confident while doing so. "Our passion for making women feel beautiful was not any less of a priority on this day than it is in our design studio every day. This effort and project in particular and the population that we're serving, less fortunate young girls across the world, as you can imagine is that much more special and rewarding." Beloti

This global initiative afforded each volunteer an experience and a sense of fulfillment that they will each cherish forever.

"What a rewarding experience! I'm glad to have been a part of it! The little girls will be runway ready, wearing the creations the whole team put together" Volunteer - Liy Pelt

"It was FANTASTIC and you are quite the leader! It was a pleasure and honor to be a part of it! Ase" Volunteer - Zakkiya Ali

"Great event for the cause" Volunteer-Gloria Beloti-Fields

"It was awesome! I had a great time! Thank you for inspiring me to do more for others. I hope you do it again!" Volunteer - Nicole Summers

"I'm in awe of you Gwen Beloti and of everyone who volunteered. Now more than ever we must continue to be light and demonstrate kindness and compassion. You all are amazing" Donator - Aminta Freeman

"I had a WONDERFUL time yesterday & networked with some amazing women. I truly appreciate you for allowing me to be a part of something so special." Volunteer - Dana Isaacs

"It was a pleasure and a joy!" Volunteer - Terina Nicole

"Thank you for organizing such an event and allowing us to be a part of something so special!" Volunteer - Melanie Henry

"Yesterday was truly a blessing and an honor. I had a wonderful time and I'm so appreciative that you gave me the opportunity to put a smile on the faces of little girls who will cherish their gift. I'm always down for a cause and look forward to this being an annual event." Volunteer - Edrey Greene

"Amazing event for a great cause! I had a wonderful time! Thank for you for organizing this event and giving me the honor of being a part of it. Looking forward to doing it again! " Volunteer - Juanita Wilson

Little Dresses for Africa's motto is that they're not just sending dresses but that they're sending hope. This past Saturday Gwen Beloti and fellow volunteers were able to contribute to that spirit of hope with a sincere and heartfelt contribution.

"Despite situation and location we are human, we are women. That commonality is undeniable and by default builds a sense of community. We have a responsibility to build up and support our community" Beloti

Due to the overwhelming response in support of this event Gwen Beloti has deemed Dresses for Little Dresses for Africa an annual event and will host the 2nd annual in June 2016; the goal number of dresses to be announced. "But of course we have to exceed our 2015 goal." says Gwen Beloti

For more information on these entities please visit: gwenbeloti.com and littledressesforafrica.com.

***For press and media inquiries please contact: [email protected]

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