“It’s so great to be here, supporting Washington Humane Organization.”
Yes, you read that correctly because according to Marie Osmond, that was the organization we were all there to celebrate on Saturday, April 14th. We were also there to learn that she was moving and didn’t have anything to wear (so she dressed like she rode in on a motorcycle), that it was okay to plug her own charity (Children’s Network), as well as her new show; and to make sure that Donnie got a shout out. Oh, and she adopted George – a puppy – right there on stage. She added that this is why she was here – it was fate.
But I digress….
For anyone that doesn’t know what Fashion for Paws is, it’s an annual runway event that has raised $2.2M so far (over six years). It went from a small, humble event to one of DC’s most well-attended, well-known events in the younger DC social circles (side note: some very young DC social “inhabitants” were also the dates of some very not-so-young DC men).
I attended my first one in 2009 when I had moved back from San Diego. It was a beautiful event that took place at the Italian Embassy, was well-attended and still in it’s humble beginnings. It was inspiring – I wanted to help – wanted to raise money for the organization and walk the runway, knowing I had made a difference in some animals’ lives. In 2010, in a weird twist, I ended up being Director of Marketing for one of the major sponsors thus, was on-point to help coordinate this event, as well as speak on stage the day of. It was interesting – being on the far other end of it, seeing how it worked, how the outfits were chosen for models – and even how the models themselves behaved, during the grueling two-month fundraising process. Needless to say, it takes the glamor out of it because replaced with that is stress, fear of falling, two sleepless months of trying to figure out how to raise money, as well as reading exhausting three-page emails a few times a week from the organization itself, pushing you to make your goal and understand the rules.
I stepped down from my position in late 2010 and didn’t attend in 2011 (for reasons that if you haven’t heard, it’s best not to re-tell). Thus, I was left with skepticism, as to whether or not I wanted to attend this year. It was because of one model and one dog that I changed my mind. So…
I attend. And what I think many people witnessed was underwhelming. At $250 a pop for VIP, I got to sit down, watch the big projection screens, as well as people eat at their tables in front of me.
Sitting TWO ROWS back in VIP
Why I’m griping – Syzygy Events botched the runway. If I were a paying table, I’d be incredibly disappointed that even I couldn’t see the dogs. Why? For some inexplicable reason, FENCES with faux leaves interwoven, lined the runway that not only had one set of steps, but two that opened up to the photographer’s pit. It was like watching a fashion show in a fish bowl – so un-personal and begged the question, “Wasn’t this supposed to be about the dogs?” (See the Fashiontographer blog for more on this.)
Add to that the fashions themselves – I don’t actually remember what anyone wore because they upped the tempo so that all 70 models could basically speed-walk down the runway. This, in turn, caused some of the designers to be named to the wrong models on the screens – no one could keep up.
As for the decor – the neon letters they used – one of them fell off during Marie Osmond’s speech and instead of fixing it so that the pictures would all look correct, the show went on with the word “Fashon” for the rest of the night.
Look close - this is when the "I" fell down.
Yes, these little details are things that I, as someone who has done enough events of all sizes, noticed. Still, these things happen to every event – it’s through no fault of the organization. What is at fault…. model/volunteer treatment.
For the last two years, I’ve kept silent. This year, I can’t. You see, I have a lot of friends that walk that runway – some of them working hard (volunteering) to make their numbers because it’s an important cause to them. But what I’ve noticed is the high sense of entitlement that has come from years of doing this event – the “You don’t pay, you don’t play” mentality. I see it across many organizations that hold events, similar to this one. It comes from the organization itself, as well as some of those models that feel it’s their right to be there. Newsflash: It isn’t your yearly “Welcome to society” party. It’s supposed to be about animals needing love, care and good homes (or insert cause here). So imagine, to my great dismay, the treatment of some of the models (volunteers), after they have raised $7,000+, contributed to silent auctions AND have followed all model rules by the book, only to discover nasty emails from the staff, telling them (at the last minute) they will be wearing something unflattering, or that they can no longer walk their dog, or that unless they bring in a celebrity, sorry, you don’t get to CHOOSE the aforementioned perks. In addition, imagine the emails about making numbers, changing deadlines for making those numbers and then realizing all your efforts might have been in vain because what you did for (insert charity here) wasn’t enough. Yes, this has happened too. This has happened while an unidentified number of “guest” models, whom were invited to walk the runway because of who they are, did absolutely nothing to raise funds.
Why I’m (close to) over it… no, this has nothing to do with ME walking. Quite honestly, I’ve done enough events, over the last few years, to know that my focus lies somewhere between me being successful at my career and contributing to others who work so hard for things they want to accomplish in their lives. This is about the treatment of others when they are working on your behalf, to raise money for a cause they feel is important – whether that it’s important to them or important to you – but that they want to support. This is about the fact that these volunteers take time out of their day to make sure what YOU want to accomplish is successful. This is also about those that SPEND money to attend said events and expect the quality they are paying for.
This isn’t the only organization I have seen this with. I’ve personally been involved in a few others, whose Directors (although under a lot of pressure themselves) have treated the volunteers as though they were there to be “used and abused”. It’s sad, as it ruins it for the rest of the organizations that remain humble in their beginnings, regardless of how large their event might get. This should never be about popularity (self-promotion), meeting unrealistic financial goals, or even power (being able to tell anyone and everyone what to do) – it should be about those you are trying to support with those dollars, as well as celebrating those large donors that give to those organizations just because.
Now, this doesn’t mean every large organization behaves this way – there are some very well-established, multimillion dollar organizations that treat their volunteers, donors, guests and fundraisers with the respect and thanks they deserve – from event inception, to execution. There are also some events that may not be as flashy but you can be confident in where the money is going and how the organization is run overall. It’s not about being seen at “the coolest party”, it’s about making a difference.
This is why I say that DC’s charity scene needs a makeover. Remove the greed (cut unrealistic goals), scale down the size of the event if need be (so as not to sacrifice quality), be mindful of the fact that the average attendee at a $250 ticket price is spending almost $1000 leading up to the event (ticket price, outfit, micro events included); and THANK EVERY LAST PERSON (genuinely) all the time for every single contribution they make. Don’t project your stress onto others when they are not paying to be there but are, instead, paying for you to be.
I know this one opinion will probably not make a difference. Instead, I hope it helps some understand that choosing to attend a charity event for the sake of being there is different than choosing a charity to support. In the end, it should be about who/what it is helping, not what you’re going to wear and who will be there.
(Pictures on my purchase coming soon.)
