Just this past Thursday, May 21st, Womenade — a division of Chapman Partnership — brought together women from all walks of life to celebrate philanthropy; and in turn, help other women. Hosting its signature fundraising event, the 6th-annual Take a Walk in Her Shoes luncheon and fashion show, Womenade helped raise money for the homeless women and children living in Chapman Partnership by honoring countless women who have already given so much of themselves to the Miami community.
Taking place at the stunning Downtown Miami JW Marriot Marquis, Take a Walk in Her Shoes showed its appreciation for top icons of the fashion world with the theme “A Salute to Designers.” Wearing 1940’s to 1990’s vintage clothing from the hottest designers, courtesy of C. Madeleine’s — with hair and makeup done by Rik Rak Salon — South Florida’s top female philanthropists and community leaders strutted their stuff on the catwalk. If that wasn’t enough pampering, these fabulous women were made even more fabulous by stylist Danny Santiago, famed for his work with the cast of Sex and the City.
“This event is extraordinarily important because it highlights the plight of homeless women and children. There is a stereotype in our community that homelessness is only about men, but we have hundreds of homeless women and children in our community,” said Bronwyn Miller, one of three Event Chairs, along with Irene Korge and Migna Sanchez-Llorens. “This is women helping women. We have the most giving — and stylish, of course — women in our community gathering together to support eradicating homeless women and children.”
Helming the luncheon as Master of Ceremonies, CBS4 TV personality, Lisa Petrillo, introduced the women of the hour: Ana de Figueroa Cisneros, Nancy Hector, Lani Kahn Drody, Linda Levy Goldberg, Lilliam Machado, Jillian Posner, Trina Robinson, Alexandra Villoch, Allison Weiss Brady and Gigi Whitman. It’s because of these philanthropic female leaders and more like them that some individuals — like Crystal, a single mom who was living on the streets with her children — have already seen their lives changed for the better.
“I went from living on the streets to having a home, an animal and a yard for my kids to play in. I couldn’t be more blessed,” Crystal says. “People look down on people who are in bad circumstances. But they’re not in these circumstances because they are bad people, they just have no one to help them. So when you have organizations like Chapman to help individuals or families in need, it’s a very wonderful thing.”
