Girls Quest Meets Tory Burch

Though I'm far from being a fashion guru myself, when I walked into the warm orange glow of Tory Burch, I knew I was in for an exciting evening. This was the venue for the Girls Quest fundraiser, where an overwhelming amount of female supporters were flocking to for even evening of fashion and giving.

Girls Quest, an organization for disadvantaged female youth, has been active for 72 years and is becoming ever stronger and successful as the years go by. Positive awareness, relationship building and learning all form the cornerstone of this group. I had the opportunity to speak with Executive Director, Susan Hall, who enlightened me on the program's goals and speaking to me about the girls' achievements in social and academic competence building.

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The girls of Girls Quest range from 8 to 17 years of age and generally stick with the program for many years.By learning about self-representation and working in an all-female environment, the girls are able to boost their self-confidence and be happy with who they are and appreciate the differences in everyone else.

Girls Quest is also an excellent literary resource, as the camp has its own library and promotes summer reading as an essential activity. The summer program caters to over 300 girls, but is also in the works throughout the year, with as many at 75 to 100 girls. On a more intensive level, other girls meet with a leader one-on-one and have two outings a month. The girls do a lot of activities that result in "subliminal learning"--fun activities and events where they apply knowledge without really being aware of it because they are thoroughly enjoying themselves. They also participate in a lot of environment-friendly fun--going green, if you will.

Not even a half hour into the event, Tory Burch was the place to be, with a steady flow of people coming through the entryway. Among the fervent shoppers was board member and event organizer, Felecia Webb, who has been with Girls Quest for four years. I asked Felecia, "Why Tory Burch?" Well, besides the fact that the designer is so "hip and modern," she is also a philanthropist who so graciously provided Girls Quest supporters with the opportunity to help the cause.

As I was guided through the sea of women by Connie Leuin, another key director from Girls Quest, I was introduced to Melissa Myers, who made the necessary ad space available for the event. Melissa, who was accompanied by her daughter, told me about her email subscription askmelissanyc.com. Essentially, Melissa is responsible for making her subscribers aware of upcoming events, such as this, as well as other editorial content.

I wasn't at Tory Burch for long before I knew the evening would be a huge success. Girls Quest will receive proceeds from the night's shopping sales and will continue to help shape the lives of their young women.