Charity Fashion Show Coming Back to WHS

Cinco de Mayo in Windham will be a cause for giving back this year, as the third annual Styles & Smiles Charity Fashion Show is coming to Windham High School.

The event was spearheaded when the high school first opened by Windham resident Donna InDelicato, who is one of millions of breast cancer survivors.

As a survivor and motivational speaker, InDelicato spoke at a similar fashion show at Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Mass.

"I thought – 'why can't Windham High School do this?'" she said. 

She soon approached the S.M.I.L.E.S. (Spreading Meaningful Irreplaceable Life Experiences Selflessly) community service club at the school.

"Of course at the time (the school was) only two grades – freshmen and sophomores – so they weren't capable of managing a full-scale public event.

InDelicato's multi-generational breast cancer awareness group – Team BellaDonna – took on the majority of the show's tasks in that first year, and split the effort with the students in the second annual event last year.

"Now there is four grades (and) they are pretty much managing the entire event on their own," InDelicato said.

She called the event an "empowering experience" for the young students.

The S.M.I.L.E.S. club is led by WHS junior Lizzie Collacchio, who brings her experience as a member of Team BellaDonna to the fashion show event.

The club is also run by teacher advisors Matt Bryant and Joe Mancinelli.

All proceeds to the event go to the Avon Breast Cancer Foundation. InDelicato said that it has raised about $5,000 to date, which is great for students.

Team BellaDonna has accumulated $333,000 for cancer research since its inception. It has 15 members this year, including InDelicato's son Vallen, who is also a junior at WHS.

InDelicato said that its a fun event due to the children's personalities, saying that they really come out when the spotlight is on. The kids have also injected a lot of their personality into this year's show, so it will cater to a teenage crowd.

In the past, InDelicato said that about 400 people have crowded the Windham High School auditorium, where the show takes place.

Local businesses have also gotten involved with the event in the past, and Indelicato added that the Windham Women's Business Connection also got behind the show in the past two years.

Students and teachers serve as the models for the show.

As for WHS principal Tom Murphy, InDelicato said that he has been great from the start.

"He has been so 110 percent behind this event from day one," she said. "He is such a great sport."

InDelicato first found out she had breast cancer when she was 34 years old, which was the trigger that caused her mother to start Team BellaDonna.

While the team does other charity events, its main draw is the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, which takes place throughout the country with the regional walk in Boston.

The team has done the walk every year since it was formed. This year, that event will happen on May 19 and 20 and traverse about 40 miles.

As for the fashion show, the event will start at 6 p.m. with tickets $10 per person or $15 for two.