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DRESSING CAJ…ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE ■ If you’ve ever wandered around your local Polytechnic West campus on a Friday, you will have no doubt noticed staff members in their jeans and sneakers. A bit too casual for the workplace? Maybe. All for a great cause? Absolutely. Polytechnic West’s Informal Fridays give staff the opportunity to support a variety of worthy local charities, in exchange for the privilege of wearing casual clothes to work. Kim Wouters, Project Officer and Coordinator for Informal Fridays, says that together, PWA staff members can make a big difference in the lives of others.
Diane Munrowd, Manager of Native ARC Inc, recipient of January’s donation, thanked Polytechnic West for their valued contribution to their organisation. “As a non-profit organisation we rely heavily on the goodwill of the public and organisations such as yours to assist us in the care of sick, orphaned and injured wildlife” Diane said. “The very generous donation Polytechnic West has provided will go towards ensuring animals in our care receive the medications and food essential for their recovery”.
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MADDY’S STYLE TO AID AWARENESS ■ What outfit would you create and wear if you didn’t want to look out of place at a children’s tea party? Not something you get asked everyday but, that’s just the question that faced students applying to be part of this year’s STYLEAID competition.
“I thought it would be a good opportunity to create something different and unique” Maddy says.
The creative brief went on to say that the colour had to be at least 80% pastel pink with a secondary colour selected from either lemon, lilac, pale green or pale blue.
Maddy has already spent over 40 hours on her design and, she’s well aware of the endless late nights to come.
With that in mind, 13 Polytechnic West students whipped up a storm and each of them will be part of the student finale, on 27 July, at Burswood.
“MY DESIGN IS BASED ON THE CHILDREN’S STORY MISS SPIDER’S TEA PARTY. IT INCORPORATES MY FAVOURITE ELEMENTS OF THE STORY”
Currently completing the third year of her Advanced Diploma in Applied Fashion Design and Technology, Maddy Frodsham says she entered the competition as a challenge.
“FEW OF US HAVE NOT BEEN TOUCHED IN SOME WAY BY SERIOUS ILLNESS, DISEASE OR ADVERSITY”
“I’m currently deconstructing a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt for use. After that, I’ll have to dye my material, colour my flowers and spray paint my spiders” Maddy says. Now in its 15th year, STYLEAID was conceived to raise much needed funds to assist in the education, prevention, care, and support aims and objectives of the Western Australian AIDS Council.
“There are a lot of organisations and people out there who, for various reasons, are doing it a lot tougher than ourselves” Kim says. “Few of us have not been touched in some way by serious illness, disease or adversity.
STYLEAID 2012 promises to once again raise the bar in presenting the best in WA fashion in a way that allows those attending to appreciate all that is great about the amazing design talent in Perth.
“We hope that our donation, although small, provides a little hope for those involved”. Raising over $9000 in 2011, the organisation hopes to top $10,000 in 2012, donating to:
January
Native Arc
February
Dyslexia SPELD Foundation
March
Ryan Marron Foundation
April
Cancer Council
May
Lifeline
June
Perth Inner City Youth Service Inc
July
World Vision (sponsoring July E from Nicaragua)
August
Silver Chain
“I can’t wait to see what other designers have come up with” Maddy says.
July E Gonzalez, Pol ytec World Vision Sponsor hnic West’s Child from Nicaragu a.
“It’s going to be a very exciting night and I am looking forward to sharing the stage with fantastic West Australian designers. “It’s going to be a very proud moment for me” Maddy said. Kerry Banyard, Portfolio Manager for the Western Australian Institute of Fashion and Textiles at Polytechnic West, has congratulated all participating students on their achievement.
“THE VERY GENEROUS DONATION POLYTECHNIC WEST HAS PROVIDED WILL GO TOWARDS ENSURING ANIMALS IN OUR CARE RECEIVE THE MEDICATIONS AND FOOD ESSENTIAL FOR THEIR RECOVERY”
“Polytechnic West students have had an ever-expanding presence at STYLEAID since the inception of the student division” Ms Banyard said. “We have a proud history of students being recognised across WA as the best in their field and it’s very rewarding to see our graduating students go on to be so successful.
September MS Society October
Juvenile Diabetes
November
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
“My design is based on the children’s story Miss Spider’s Tea Party. It incorporates my favourite elements of the story being flowers, a web and spiders (all coloured in pink) of course!”
With over 1900 staff members, Polytechnic West is committed to supporting the local community and looks forward to doing so for many years to come.
“I wish them all the very best of luck for the event”.
“Nothing is better for the soul than the gift of giving” Kim says.
December
Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS)
If you have any questions regarding Informal Friday, please contact Kim Wouters on 6254 8306.
Maddy Frodsham’s design for STYLEAID 2012 takes shape.
To find out more about studying fashion at Polytechnic West call 9267 7500. For further information on STYLEAID 2012 visit styleaid.com.au.