<p>Start:
June 9, 2011
End:
June 13, 2011</p>
<p>Venue:
Central High School
Phone:
(205) 759-3720
Address:
901 15th street, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States, 35401 </p>
<p>After the tornado swept through Tuscaloosa on April 27, many people lost their homes, cars and all of their possessions. Immediate needs such as food, shelter and water were the top priorities for many victims, and items such as clothing and bath supplies were considered luxuries.</p>
<p>MeetUP for Change, a non-profit organization, has partnered with the Universitys College of Human Environmental Sciences, the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, and apparel designer Alfred Dunner to sponsor an event called Dress Up! Tuscaloosa that will provide clothing to those impacted by the storm.</p>
<p>ZBT is mostly doing the grassroots of the event, said Steven Allon, a senior and vice president of Zeta Beta Tau. David Aresty was a ZBT here at Alabama, and he works for Alfred Dunner. He decided to make a huge donation to Tuscaloosa in clothing, and then he called us to help coordinate the event.</p>
<p>The fraternity has been actively helping out by spreading the awareness of the event through social networks, as well as by donating manpower. The dresses are coming in a 53-foot trailer, and if the clothes were all lined up end to end, the path would be over a half-mile long.</p>
<p>We really need to people to man this event, said Allon. We need babysitters, personal shoppers, we need people for restocking. Its hard to anticipate how many people will show up, so the more help the better.</p>
<p>Dress Up! Tuscaloosa was created for women who lost most of their belongings in the midst of the storm. On June 9 through 13 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Central High School, residents can come and shop through tens of thousands of designer dresses, skirts and pants to re-build their wardrobes.</p>
<p>The dresses are from Dunners spring and summer collections; most are coming straight from the warehouse and havent even been sold in stores yet.</p>
<p>All items of clothing will come at no cost to any woman who arrives.</p>
<p>This is a true give-away of clothing, said Babs Davis, director of fashion retailing at the College of Human Environmental Sciences.</p>
<p>Additionally, those come to the event will have the opportunity to be assigned personal shoppers students of CHES to assist them in creating outfits.</p>
<p>Some of these ladies havent been shopping in so long that they do not remember or even know what sizes they wear, said Davis. So we will have fitting rooms and if they need to try something on or have a different size brought to them, somebody will be there to assist them.</p>
<p>Each woman will be able to take home eight garments, or enough to make four new outfits.</p>
<p>We realize that some of these women are moms, and so babysitting and toys will be provided, said Vikki Grodner, executive director of MeetUP for Change. The reason that the high school was selected as our set-up location was because its kid safe.</p>
<p>The school will be providing snacks throughout the days as well as food to the women and children, Grodner said.</p>
<p>The toys donated are educational toys and stuffed animals that have come from several toy stores, including A Tiny Kingdom, a toy store in Mountain Brook, Ala.</p>
<p>In addition to personal shoppers, babysitting services, toys and snacks, Grodner said the women would be able to get makeovers and meet with consultants from Arbonne Cosmetics. Arbonne Cosmetics has agreed to come in and bring consultants for free, Grodner said, and Hands of Hope will be providing chair massages.</p>
<p>To top off the day, the first 200 women who check out will receive goodie bags donated from Johnson & Johnson, each containing five full-sized products ranging from shampoo to face wash to lotion.</p>
<p>Also provided at the checkout will be various free medical supplies, water, mental health counselors and other resources to help get the community back on their feet.</p>
<p>We want to make sure that the clothing they get will be useful to these women and will be something that they feel good in, said Davis. The clothing has to be something that will help them get started back to a normal life again.</p>