Fashion Show Raises More than $155,000 to Benefit Eva’s Village Anti-Poverty Programs: Record Turnout Raises Record Funds!

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Eva's Village

May 29, 2016, 03:00 ET


Paterson, NJ (PRWEB) May 29, 2016 -- Paterson, NJ (PRWEB) Eva’s Village 7th Annual ‘Behind the Seams’ Fashion Show on May 23 topped all previous years for attendance and fundraising. The funds raised represent a 17% increase over the amount raised at last year’s event. Over 370 guests contributed more than $155,000 to support Eva’s 20 anti-poverty programs.

“As ‘Behind the Seams’ continues to grow in popularity, the additional funds, raised at this event and others each year, provide critical support for the food, shelter, medical care and supportive recovery services we offer for the greater Paterson Community,” noted Eva’s Development Director Heather Thompson. “Eva’s Village depends on private donations and fundraising, which make up more than a third of our annual revenue,” she said.

Guests were treated to an evening of entertainment and fine dining at Bottagra Restaurant in Hawthorne, NJ, including cocktails, food and beverage stations, a seated dinner, silent and live auctions, and a tented runway show featuring spring and summer styles, plus a sneak peek at fall fashions. Local models were joined by two celebrity fighters--professional boxer and Paterson native Caleb Hernandez and Mixed Martial Arts star Jimmie Rivera--modeling styles from Sal Lauretta for Men, Robert Graham and Boutique 811.

Founded and hosted by Sal Lauretta for Men, The DSM Group, and Bottagra Restaurant, many guests return year after year to support the programs at Eva’s Village.

“We at Sal Lauretta for Men are so pleased at how far this event has come,” noted Ralph Lauretta, ‘Behind the Seams’ founder and Co-Chair. “Eva’s is right in our backyard, and we are grateful for the opportunity to support a charity where you can actually see lives being changed in our community on a day to day basis,” he said.

More about Eva’s Village
Founded by Msgr. Vincent E. Puma in 1982, Eva’s Community Kitchen began by serving 30 meals a day in Paterson to feed the hungry. In response to the related issues of poverty, addiction, mental illness and homelessness in the community, over the decades additional programs and services grew out of the Community Kitchen to become Eva’s Village, a non-profit, social service, anti-poverty organization that is one of the most comprehensive in New Jersey. For more than 30 years, Eva’s Village carried out its mission to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, treat the addicted, and provide medical and dental care to the poor with respect for the human dignity of each individual. Today, Eva’s Village helps thousands of individuals rebuild their lives each year through 20 integrated programs addressing needs in the community for Food & Housing, Medical & Recovery Services, and Education & Training.

Ellen V. Kuhn, Eva's Village, http://www.evasvillage.org, +1 973-943-8858 Ext: 270, [email protected]