Fashion Empowering Women Lends Hands For DCPS Beautification Day

by Ebonie Johnson Cooper · August 28, 2012

    While students, parents and educators put the finishing touches on their first day of school lists over the weekend, groups of volunteer teams throughout the District helped to spruce up public schools on Saturday for the DCPS Beautification Day, sponsored by Target.

    One such team was the Fashion Empowering Women Foundation "FEW" team led by foundation director, Desirée Venn Frederic, and project manager, Darla Bunting. In conjunction with the culmination of foundation's summer long Build-A-Backpack drive, the FEW team painted walls, planted flowers and stuffed backpacks full of school supplies for students at Johnson Middle School in Ward 8.

    As volunteers worked, they were paid a special visit by DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson who beamed with joy as she saw what all was being done at Johnson! They were then treated to a yummy lunch by a Build-A-Backpack corporate sponsor, Carolina Kitchen. During the end-of-the-day presentation, Johnson's principal, Carol Campbell-Fullard, expressed her gratitude for having the FEW team make their school beautiful, and for selecting Johnson as a recipient of such a generous donation of backpacks and school supplies their students will need.

    FEW volunteers included foundation supports, representatives from Build-A-Backpack corporate sponsor, Hilton Hotels; non-profits: Dreams Work, Inc & The Jamal Harris Project and community partner, Friends of Ebonie.