Fashion show to benefit MHBD

Posted: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 8:00 pm

By ALEX JACOBI
Special to the Press
On Thursday, Martin’s Sugar and Spice and non-profit organization Be Free Revolution (BFR) will host a lunch and fashion show at 11:30 a.m. at the store in downtown Martin, selling BFR jewelry and giving women fashion advice.
Along with offering free lunch and admission to the community, Sugar and Spice owner Sharon Maloan plans to give a portion of the proceeds back to the Martin Historic Business District, a Tennessee Downtowns Community.
“Whatever they spend on the Be Free jewelry, I’m going to donate a percentage to Historic Martin,” she said.
Another portion of the customers’ profits will go to BFR, helping individuals in Africa gain income, counseling, education, building and feeding programs. This program is dedicated to helping others in vulnerable countries. When it comes to budget, the group gives most of the profit back to its mission – helping those who are less fortunate.
In the fashion show, Maloan simply hopes to help people with their everyday wardrobe, giving them advice on how to improve the items they already have.
“We don’t just send someone down a runway; we talk about how to wear this season’s clothing, what’s appropriate for what age and how to maximize your wardrobe dollars. … I encourage people to bring something that they have in their closet that they just want to update a little bit,” Maloan said.
Overall, in executing this event and giving money back to Martin, Maloan hopes to encourage local businesses.
“I think it’s incredibly important to do the things that [the Martin Historic District] does. … This is my way of giving back. We are doing so much with businesses to try and keep people in Martin shopping the local stores, not going to Memphis or Nashville, so they can stay in business. It’s so important for the whole picture. Because the more people shop at local businesses, it’s like a domino effect. These people give back to support different local organizations. So, it’s vital,” Maloan said.
President of the Martin Historic Business District Kim Longacre also thinks local businesses are important, giving Martin a large portion of its revenue.
“Independent, local businesses put in the work and know personally what the community needs most. Local business returns 52 percent of revenue back to the local economy. We all know how important that is,” Longacre said.
Published in The WCP 5.7.13