Philanthropy Done Fashionably: AYC Women’s Auxiliary’s ‘Summer Soiree With Lilly Pulitzer’ a Big Success
Christmas seemingly came early when the Avalon Yacht Club Women’s Auxiliary fused fashion with philanthropy at its annual summertime fashion show fundraiser.
Considerable revenue to support local charities was raised at the AYC’s “Summer Soiree With Lilly Pulitzer” on July 18. Major support from clothier Lilly Pulitzer, an ample supply of goodies benevolently donated by business owners in Avalon, Stone Harbor, and nearby towns for raffle and door prizes, and the cheerful giving of 225 attendees united to make this year’s AYC Women’s Auxiliary charitable event a smashing success.
Co-chair of Fashion Show Donations Barbara Haffner, who has a background in community service fundraising, notes that such fundraising is not always easy.
“Collecting donations can be difficult,” Haffner says. “We had 50 gift baskets [to raffle off]. It took a wide pool of people, member families and individuals, to gather enough donations to fill that many baskets.” Successful charitable fundraising requires “leadership, generosity and effort.” This fundraiser had excellence in each of those areas, she proclaims.
Furthermore, “the staff at the Avalon Yacht Club went above and beyond’’ in contributing to the positive outcome of the fashion show fundraiser, Haffner adds.
A total of $23,000 was raised at the “Summer Soiree.”
Local charities and nonprofit organizations that benefited from the fashion show festivities included the Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children in Avalon; the Holy Redeemer Food Pantry located behind Redeemer Health Home Care in Swainton; The Wetlands Institute; The Branches Outreach Center of Rio Grande; Friend In Need of Cape May County; the Coalition Against Rape & Abuse, Inc. (CARA) of Cape May County; the Avalon Police Department, and the Avalon Volunteer Fire Department.
A series of thank-you letters addressed to the women’s auxiliary from donation recipient organizations reveal countless ways in which the monies raised will be put to good use.
Donations to the Helen Diller Home will help provide all-expense-paid weeks of fun in Avalon for visually impaired children. The Wetlands Institute will benefit by continuing its research, conservation, and education programs with 21st century techniques and innovations. Funds sent to Friend In Need will be applied as a donation to the group’s 21st Annual Super Bash, which benefits families in need of assistance within Cape May County. Monies sent to CARA will ease the suffering of Cape May County victims of domestic and sexual violence.
Plus, thanks to the women’s auxiliary, the Avalon Police Department will initiate a safe bicycling at night program by providing and installing free bicycling lights, complete with safe driving instructions, to juveniles on bikes at night. The AYC’s donation to the fire department will help to pay for training, purchase of equipment, or department well-being.
Amazing what such a pairing of fashion with philanthropy can achieve!
During the dinner, a canvas painting of a Lilly Pulitzer print – a brilliant sea scene in shades of periwinkle blue, green and muted pink – was created by artist Erin Stein. The artwork was then auctioned and sold to the highest bidder. Some serious haggling led to an intense battle between three bidders. Swedesboro DJ Joe Bene, who worked with Lilly Pulitzer’s fashion show coordinator in providing suitable music for the show, jumped in to referee.
In the end, the original painting sold for a record $2,700, well beyond the norm of between $500 and $700 at such events, says AYC Women’s Auxiliary president Elizabeth Eshelman, who chaired the “Summer Soiree With Lilly Pulitzer.” All the proceeds from the sale of the painting went to the Helen Diller Home at the highest bidder’s request.
Little did Elizabeth Eshelman know that she would one day coordinate such a major fundraising event back when she and her husband Bryan Eshelman joined the Avalon Yacht Club so that their six children could learn to sail. Neither of them sailed in their younger years.
“My kids literally grew up there,” the former elementary school teacher muses.
In time, Bryan wanted to give back to the club in gratitude for how much the family’s membership benefited their offspring, Elizabeth says. So, her spouse made a commitment to club leadership. In accepting a three-year, volunteer flag officer role, one moves from being rear commodore to vice commodore to commodore from year to year, assuming more responsibilities in leading the Avalon Yacht Club each year. As the commodore’s wife, Elizabeth assumed the role of the women’s auxiliary president and fundraiser chairperson.
While kicking around ideas for this year’s fashion show, the Eshelmans’ oldest child and only daughter Mary Kate, 24, a longtime wearer and fan of the Lilly Pulitzer brand, wondered if it might be remotely possible to recruit “Lilly” to sponsor the event.
Bryan Eshelman has long worked as a retail consultant. Lilly Pulitzer CEO Michelle Kelly and he, both University of Virginia alumni, became friends ages ago and Kelly has since become a family friend, Elizabeth explains. When Bryan approached Kelly about the possibility of a Lilly fashion show at the club, she agreed to do it.
“It was a dream come true to have Lilly manage the show,” says Elizabeth, who cannot say enough about the company’s support and generosity. “It was a team effort from corporate to the local [Lilly Pulitzer] store,” she notes.
Lilly Pulitzer styled the “Summer Soiree” down to the finest details.
Signature Lilly patterned prints brightened up custom-made invitations to the event, the gold-framed table number cards, and pillows adorning furniture on the Yacht Club’s deck.
Models, female club members ranging in age from 12 to 70, and attendees were not the only ones wearing Lilly Pulitzer apparel at the fashion show. The company provided Avalon Yacht Club general manager Brian Juliano and assistant manager Jarrod Sykes with short-sleeved, button-down linen Lilly shirts for the event. Lilly Pulitzer also clothed the bar staff and the DJ in solid pink polo shirts and the waitstaff in hot pink polo shirts.
Not only that, CEO Kelly attended the “Summer Soiree” and narrated the fashion show. Eleni McCready, senior director of brand marketing and community at Lilly Pulitzer, described the AYC’s fashion fundraiser as “truly a high point of our summer events” and offered this summary of Kelly’s remarks to her audience that evening:
“It all started with one incredible woman [Lilly Pulitzer] who had the courage to find her joy and create her own sunshine. A true original with the confidence to stand out in a crowd and the humility to pull it off.
“Nearly 65 years later, our radiant journey continues and we carry on the timeless tradition of making women feel as good as they look. This vision of creating one’s own sunshine is true to the work we do today, the product we design, and the experiences we try to create for our customers.
“Our mission is to inspire confidence and optimism, inspiring everyone to shine bright and stand out, and that’s the energy level in this room — it’s fantastic, a room full of strong, confident women supporting the philanthropic evening!”
Elizabeth Eshelman remains grateful to Lilly Pulitzer, local donors and everyone who pitched in to make the “Soiree” so sunny and successful. “It ended up being bigger and more grand than I ever imagined,” she says. “I am thrilled for the recipients of the donations.”
