In 2010, Amy Woodell, a fourth-year retail and fashion merchandising student, returned from a summer mission trip in a slum of Lusaka, Zambia, which changed the course of her life. The Cary, NC native had long dreamed of a fast-paced life in the New York City fashion industry, but the widows and children she met at an orphanage began to consume her thoughts.

Sunday evening, at 701 Whaley, the Contemporary Trends in Fashion class (RETL 388) put on a fashion show called “Birds of a Feather Flock Together.” All of the proceeds of ticket sales went to Clothed in Hope, a non-profit organization created by one of our own students, Amy Woodell. Its mission is to “alleviate poverty and provide hope to widows in the Ng’ombe compound in Lusaka, Zambia through vocational training in sewing.”

Woodell went on a mission trip to Zambia over the summer and was inspired by the women she met along the way. Amy created the restyled clothing line to support Zambian women out of recycled t-shirts sewn by those who enter her 2-month training program. The clothing at the fashion show were from our very own local retailers. The list included Belladea, Bohemian, M Boutique, Pink Sorbet, Just the Thing, VanJean, LaRoque and Kicks.