On April 26, 2007 the Jacksonville City Center held their Fourth Annual
Cocktail Couture event which is a friendly competition among some of 
Jacksonville's most talented Design Teams. 

Using donated industry materials to create fabulous "Big Bold Kentucky Derby Hats."  The hats 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 few 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.  Fogle Fine Art was our gracious host once again and the evening
 was complete with food, fun, live and silent auctions.

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 $13,500 as donated in 2006, but we were very pleased to be able to
present Dignity U Wear with a check for $16,500.  After tallying our final numbers, we are able to
give Dignity U Wear over $18,000!

Thanks again to our Cocktail Couture team, our generous sponsors and contributors to the Kentucky
Derby Hat competition for supporting us in another successful event!