Madison Reading Project’s READ(y) to Wear Fashion Show 2019

Madison Reading Project’s READ(y) to Wear Fashion Show 2019

On Saturday, February 9th, Bella Domicile was excited to participate in the Madison Reading Project’s READ(y) to Wear fashion show. The Madison Reading Project is a nonprofit that works to bring books and literacy programming to underserved children throughout south-central Wisconsin. Rowan Child, herself a mother of two, founded the Madison Reading Project in 2013 after becoming alarmed by the statistic that two-thirds of children living in poverty do not have books at home.

Literacy is especially important in early childhood. According to the Madison Reading Project’s website, difficulties in reading are directly linked to early drop-out rates and unemployment. Those living in poverty are disproportionately affected by a lack of reading skills. Purchasing books is a privilege that low-income homes often do not have.

The Madison Reading Project relies on donations to bring books to children in need. These books are then distributed to schools, homeless shelters, community centers, and other local organizations where families may visit. The more places that children have accessibility to book, the greater chance they have at improving their literacy skills and developing a passion for reading. The Madison Reading Project also hosts giveaway events throughout the year, which provide books for children to bring home, helping to put an end to the statistic that called Rowan Child to action.

We at Bella Domicile have teamed up with the Madison Reading Project to help in their mission  to improve the literacy of underprivileged children because we know that literacy is such an important foundation in life. Our goal is to partner up to bring the joy of reading to all children in our community. Our president, Dan Luck, and his wife Sally both love to read, as well as many of the Bella Domicile staff. The mission and values of the Madison Reading Project align so well with our own, which makes this an easy and important local nonprofit to support.

The READ(y) to Wear fashion show is a “paper-inspired benefit fashion show”. Teams work to create a costume almost entirely out of paper and compete to earn awards from the panel of judges. The show raises money and awareness for Madison Reading Project’s operation costs and to continue its outreach programs. This year the fashion show raised $24,000!

Bella Domicile competed this year by pulling our inspiration from Peter Pan. Over drinks one night, our design team sketched out our idea for the costume. We decided to modernize the idea of Peter Pan. The idea behind the outfit (so beautifully modeled by Dan!) was for it to be business on the outside (hence the suitcoat) while remaining a little boy on the inside (i.e. Peter Pan, once the suitcoat was removed). The girls’ outfits added to our theme, with one representing a Lost Boy and the other as Tinkerbell. The girl’s skirts were made using pages of old Peter Pan books and the cover was used to create Tinkerbell’s wings.

It was a fun night to support a wonderful organization. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Madison Reading Project throughout the year, by hosting their annual Thankful event and also by leading the United Madison television campaign for 2019. Keep watching for more about our partnership with this amazing local nonprofit!