By Rebecca Rider
rebecca.rider@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Partners in Learning will hold its first fashion show fundraiser Sept. 16.

“And the models are children with special needs and their moms,” Norma Honeycutt, executive director, said.

The non-profit childcare facility accepts a large number of students with special needs, a fact which sparked the idea for the “Just as I Am” fashion show. Honeycutt explained that models with special needs are rarely included in fashion shows. She, and others at Partners in Learning, wanted students to know that they had a place there, too.

“It was really about helping them to feel special, to feel very much included in the world of fashion,” she said.

The Just as I Am fashion show features 10 models, from 8 months to 16 years old, and their mothers.

“Because moms of children with special needs get burnt out. They forget about self-care,” Honeycutt explained.

All clothing for the show has been donated by local businesses, and the models get to keep the items afterwards.

“That is rare in a fashion show,” Honeycutt said.

The event will also feature a former model visitor, and songs from a student in Rowan-Cabarrus Community College’s S.O.A.R. program.

“So it’s really a day of celebration, to celebrate differences and abilities — really we’re not looking at their disabilities, we’re looking at their abilities,” Honeycutt said.

This is the first time a Partners in Learning fundraiser has taken the form of a fashion show, and Honeycutt said she and others hope it will become an annual event.

“It’s going to be wonderful,” Honeycutt said.

Heavy hors d’oeuvres and a signature drink will be served to guests.

Funds raised go towards Partners In Learning’s scholarship fund. The event will be held Sept. 16 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Salisbury Country Club, 747 Club Drive. Tickets are $35 each.

To donate or become a sponsor, go to www.epartnersinlearning.org/donate. To purchase tickets, go to www.epartnersinlearning.org/special-needs-fashion-show-just-as-i-am.

K-Dee’s Jewelers and Tilley Harley-Davidson of Salisbury donated items for a raffle. Sponsors who donated clothing for the models are: Lora Belle Baby, Encore on Main, Dry Designs by Curiosity Gifts, Queens, Lolly Wolly Doodle, LuLaRoe by Kristie Elana and Liz, LuLaRoe by Lacy, 3 Jems, Bella Jayde and Tilley Harley-Davidson.

Other sponsors include: Jimmy Greene, One Step at A Time Therapy, Jay Boulter, Ben Mynatt Nissan, Salisbury Academy, Michael Hanzlik with Edward Jones, F&M Bank and Don Fortner, D.MD.

Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.