Rainbows’ Development Department, a women-led team of four is composed of Vice President of Development Kelsi Hinshaw, Development Coordinator Vanessa Segura, Development Specialist Kelsey “Billie” Genschorck, and Special Events Assistant Scarlet Grassie. I, Vanessa Segura, am a first-year Development Coordinator.
There were many firsts in this year’s Fashion Passion success story. The year 2022 is a celebratory year for Rainbows United. We have lived a year-long birthday celebration with lots of color, cookies and balloons for Rainbows 50th anniversary. Founder Linda Weir-Enegren’s inspiring story has been heard throughout the walls of Rainbows, and now through Fashion Passion the how and why Rainbows United is important has been shared with out community.
We were honored to have Linda Weir-Enegren, her son Paul Enegren and his wife Yeni Enegren as Fashion Passion Chairs. Their stories inspired our community as we looked back at the past 50 years and look forward to the next.
For the 16th Annual Fashion Passion, the theme followed the phrase “unlocking possibilities”. At Rainbows we unlock possibilities for families and their children. The amount raised at Fashion Passion will unlock possibilities for even more children with special needs and their families.
The Fashion Passion essence became a secret garden. We incorporated decorative doors, earthy tones and keys into the theme. Our Fashion forward ladies, otherwise known as Friends of the Heart, are longtime supporters of Rainbows United and came on with full force ready to use all their abilities as artists, promoters, and collaborators to ensure the success of this year’s event. These ladies know our Fashion Passion history and share the vision of what the future can be.
I was fortunate to work with several friendly and caring community members who support Rainbows by engaging with and caring for the organization. I worked with Fashion Passion legends such as Jo Walters and Margaret Shook, and of course our dear friends at Textron Aviation who had my back with all the Fashion Passion logistics.
One of the extraordinary ways the community came together was through our largest auction package known in Rainbows United history, The Backyard/Pool Package. The coordination of our Extreme Backyard Makeover live auction brought in $180,000.
The one-of-a-kind auction packages, tasty fashiontinis, and the fabulous Fashion Show once again made for an exclusive night which broke records by raising $1,022,035.
We at Rainbows United couldn’t have had such a successful night without the support and help from our Marketing Department team, Fashion Passion Committee, Chairs, endless volunteers, and community.
The celebration of 50 years of Rainbows United and the record-breaking Fashion Passion night are success stories which will continue to grow with the number of families and children we serve.
Read more about Vanessa here.
