Fashion meets fiction (and nonfiction) with library fundraiser

Opening the door, I stepped inside. Behind a long counter a tall woman with multi-colored hair modeled a green felt hat. All around her fashion conscious shoppers pulled brightly colored skirts, dresses, tops, and bottoms from the racks. Strategically placed mirrors provided opportunities to find the perfect garment and fit. The colors, like the behind the counter woman’s hair, were fabulously aligned, creating a balance that should have presented itself as loud, but instead was like a painter’s pallet, carefully chosen.

The woman behind the counter, I later learned, was Allora Campbell, who, along with her mother, Nancy Campbell, is an Independent Fashion Consultant for LuLaRoe clothing. Another LuLaRoe, Allora’s sister, Amanda Wheeler, joined them. LuLaRoe is a California-based clothing company founded in 2013 by DeAnne Stidham. The company name comes from three of Stidham’s daughters (Lucy, Lola and Monroe). Wanting to share more time with her children was DeAnne’s inspiration for the company. Empowering other women to achieve their own life goals is her primary selling point, when seeking new consultants to sell her LuLaRoe “simply-comfortable” clothing line. Like Stidham, these three women, and many others it seems, have found a niche as “LuLaRoes’.”

Generally not one to find myself amongst women’s apparel without some unprecedented circumstance, here I was in the midst of a fashion extravaganza.   The setting, the flurry of shoppers and the flood of colors all around were dizzying. Stepping back outside for a moment – to breathe is some fresh air and the fragrance of a fire station fundraiser chicken barbecue –

I ascertained that I had, indeed, walked into the correct door. I stepped back inside and took a closer look around at a fantasy-like world that stirred my imagination.

All around me stacks of library books lined the walls, while most of the floor space was taken up by racks of clothing and excited shoppers. A woman, sifting through a rack of dresses with her daughter, pointed me toward someone who I hoped would provide answers to my reality disconnect. The woman greeted me warmly, and introduced herself as Stephanie Gehrig, President of Mount Morris Library Board of Directors. Reassured that I was still in Mount Morris, NY, and had, furthermore, found the Mount Morris Library, 121 Main Street, my intended destination, I inquired about the flurry of activity around me. Gehrig explained that the event was part of a fundraising effort on behalf of the library. The LuLaRoe Fashion Consultants were contributing 25 percent of their sales to the library. According the Gehrig, the primary goal of the library’s fundraising efforts was a new heating system. Their online “wish list” includes a number of smaller items, including a bike rack, an area rug for the children’s reading area and a 40” T.V. screen and DVD player for family movie nights.

Feeling enlightened and reassured that my GPS (and trusty travel companion), “Gil,” had steered me in the right direction, the disconnect between what I expected to walk into and what I found, as delightful as it was, still left me with a feeling I had fallen down a rabbit hole. I had been in another library the day before, while they were holding one of their regular used book sales, a common library fundraising strategy. In these challenging economic times, finding adequate funding for important community agencies – like libraries and fire departments – requires innovative approaches and online networking. Libraries looking to better meet the needs of their members are expanding services, creating community spaces that offer everything from Tai Chi and yoga (Wayland Free Library) to homesteading (Allens Hill Free Library), along with an expanding offering of more traditional library functions. Still, I was impressed by the creativity, ingenuity and atmosphere created by this fashion event. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, and it was evident that it was a beneficial collaboration.

Stepping back outside, I retrieved from my pocket chicken barbecue tickets – which I had purchased while orienting myself to my initial fashion and book stack disconnect. Standing in line, waiting my turn – dinners were sold out – I chatted with those around me, including a woman who worked serving individuals with developmental disabilities. I reflected on how misplaced government priorities drive community fundraising ingenuity.

DeAnne Stidham, in her LuLaRoe literature, states that hearing someone say, “I believe in you,” was a message that changed her life for the better. Meeting this community of people working together to make a good even better, reminded me of a bumper sticker I have seen over the years. The bumper sticker reads: “It will be a great day when schools have all the money they need and the air force has to hold a bake sale to buy bombers.” We could easily insert into this message the libraries, fire departments, childcare facilities and many other agencies that help meet people’s basic needs and safeguard our constitutional and human rights. The very services we most depend on are often the most poorly funded. This is not likely to change anytime soon, based on current budget projections and government priorities. In the meantime, fire departments will host chicken barbecues, cheerleaders will hold car washes and libraries will become showcases for fashion.