Ball Gowns for Good

By Shanelle Schick

A group of local women have banded together to give those ball gowns, race outfits and cocktail dresses that are sitting in the back of your cupboard a new lease on life and a chance to be worn again and to raise funds for a charity close to their hearts.

A ‘Pop Up Shop’ fundraiser has been set up for the local Black Dog Ball which is Central Queensland’s Premier event, a gala ball that raises awareness and seeks to remove the stigma surrounding mental health issues in regional Queensland

Candice Fraser, Teena Myburgh, Suhaila Hodgkinson, Jessica Lewis, Maria Rooney and Heather McGaun all with a vested interest in mental health and wellbeing have been attending the Ball as a group for a number of years and wanted to help raise some extra funds The idea came about after the women were chatting and decided that reusing outfits was a sustainable way to raise funds and help out the Black Dog organisation

A Facebook group has been created and saw the members go from 0 to over 200 in under 3 days. The group will provide updates of collection points, days and times as well as the details of the ‘Pop Up Shop’. Spokeswoman for the group Candice Fraser said that the group plan to host the ‘ pop up shop’ sometime in June or July to give the public the opportunity to purchase preloved outfits before the start of social events happening in the second half of the year

Body and Soul Yoga Studio have kindly donated the space to the women to host the ‘Pop Up Shop’ and it is anticipated that there will be racks starting at $25 up to $100. Eftpos facilities will be available on the day.

We will continue to keep in contact with Candice and the organising team to bring you the details once they have been confirmed, however it is recommended that you also join the Facebook group to keep updated with the latest information as it comes to hand.