Kim Peterson, founder of Uniquely Savvy, will be the inspirational speaker as Assistance League of the Eastside presents Step Into Style: An Afternoon of Friends, Fashion and Philanthropy from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 15 at the Westin Bellevue, 600 Bellevue Way N.E.
Darcy Camden, resident stylist for KING-5’s “New Day Northwest” and style consultant for Q-13 Fox News, will emcee the event.
Tickets for the luncheon and fashion show are $55 plus $3 handling. There will be an opportunity to donate to Assistance League of the Eastside’s philanthropic programs: Operation School Bell®, Assault Survivor Kits®, Starting Over Support and Help4Homeless.
Today, Peterson is an accomplished fashion stylist and life coach with clients from Microsoft, Amazon and Royal Caribbean. But for much of her life she felt invisible, experiencing poverty, assault, domestic violence and homelessness. Given up by her biracial birth parents, Peterson was adopted into a white family. Her adoptive father left when she was 6, taking her siblings with him.
Peterson said she admires that Assistance League of the Eastside is “a heart-centered organization that offers a hand up and support in very tangible ways, to people who feel invisible.” Tangible ways “help you to feel anchored enough to do the real work of healing,” she explained. “Assistance League makes things better for people, especially the kids who are invisible.”
For example, Assistance League of the Eastside’s Operation School Bell helps students with financial hardship go back to school with confidence. Through special shopping events, 4,065 kids and teens from the Lake Washington, Bellevue and Northshore School Districts were outfitted with new clothes and shoes in 2014-15. Peterson’s own nephew was a recipient of this support.
“To see these kids smiling is beautiful, because in that moment, they’re just who they’re supposed to be,” said Peterson. “These are our future teachers, our future leaders. So many are hurting. Operation School Bell gives struggling kids a soft place to land.”
Camden said, “One thing that unites all people, no matter who you are, is that we all get up in the morning and put on clothes. It’s just one part of your day but it’s an important part, one that sets the tone for the day.”
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