On March 16, 2006 the Jacksonville City Center held the Third Annual Cocktail Couture event which is a friendly competition among some of Jacksonville's most talented Design Teams. (More photos below.)

Using donated industry materials to create fabulous "Designer Wear", this year we created beach bags. The beach bags were judged and auctioned for a very deserving organization, Dignity U Wear.

You may recall that philanthropist and Holocaust survivor, Henri Landwirth, founded Dignity U Wear in 2000 in Jacksonville. The mission of the Dignity U Wear Foundation, Inc. is to positively impact the lives of children and their families by providing brand new clothing. The fulfillment of this goal has been instrumental in restoring hope and self-esteem for those in need throughout our region. As a result of our relationship with this foundation over the last two years, we've learned so much more about this very deserving organization.

A few Dignity U Wear facts:

• 50% of the families that seek help are single mothers of two or more children.

• 96% of every dollar directly benefits the organization.

• Dignity U Wear is over 95% managed by volunteer support and is designated as 501C3.

The Jacksonville City Center created a Cocktail Couture team among local designers and industry professionals who donated countless hours in the planning of the event. In addition to coordinating all of the nuances of the evening, the team was charged with the solicitation of sponsor donations, the compilation of the designer kits and the encouragement of design teams to enter the competition. We also hosted celebrity judges who included Kim Alexis, fashion model; Ted Pappas, President of PBV Architecture; and Sandy Argroves Wilson, Director of Development and Marketing at the Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach. Fogle Fine Art was our gracious host once again and the evening was complete with food, fun, live and silent auctions, and a raffle of donated furniture pieces.

Due to the success and notoriety of the last two events, several local news and publication organizations were present to help spread the word about our event and IIDA's Jacksonville City Center. Through pre-event publicity and the network of Jacksonville's supporting organizations, the attendance exceeded our expectations and solidified this as our most successful annual event. Initial sponsorship goals were $10,000 as donated in 2005, but we were very pleased to be able to present Dignity U Wear with a check for $13,500.

Thanks again to our Cocktail Couture team, our generous sponsors.