Dresses for Hope fundraiser for cancer charity
Pop-up dress shop at Buddy’s
A pop-up dress shop in aid of the Irish Cancer Society will be taking place in Buddy’s Bar in Capparoe in Nenagh on March 22.
From 3 to 6pm, women will have the opportunity to browse a wide range of donated dresses in a wide variety of sizes and styles.
This event will be hosted by Charlene Bourke, who came up with this idea when she realised how many barely worn dresses she had in her wardrobe.
“I love dresses, I love getting glammed up. I was at home clearing out my wardrobe and I’ve so many dresses and I realised I would really like to do something with my dresses,” explained Charlene.
“I wanted to give back to the Irish Cancer Society and that’s where this idea of a pop-up dress shop came from,” she continued.
“I had nine weddings last year, I only wore all of those dresses once because [her friends] were all going to the same weddings, that’s nine dresses I have from last year alone that will be for sale,
“We are going to have new, old and modern dresses,” expressed Charlene.
Donated Dresses
“I named it Dresses for Hope because it’s about remembrance and it’s about giving back to the Irish Cancer Society and for research, and early detection and for families affected by cancer,” explained Charlene.
“My friends, my family, we’ve all come together and we’ve all gathered up dresses.
“We’ve gone to neighbours and friends of friends, and my Facebook post has gone completely viral with people asking if they could donate dresses,” she continued, highlighting how positively people have reacted to her idea for this event.
“The dresses are ranging from young to old. Its going to be from size 6 to size 20, I’m also going to have a little girl’s section,
“We throw out dresses all the time, especially the younger generation today. I only wear a dress once really now and I’m giving it away to someone else. This event is nearly like a real life vinted, but 100% of the proceeds will be going to the Irish Cancer Society.
“It’s all about getting the money in for the Irish Cancer Society,” explained Charlene, highlighting how these dresses, with a lot of them being barely worn before, will be set at affordable prices on the day."
Personal connection to the charity
Like so many others, the Irish Cancer Society is an organisation that has personally helped Charlene’s loved ones.
“This is so close to my heart. Colon Cancer Month means a lot to me, I lost my mam at 47 to colon cancer, and someone who was very close to me got diagnosed with it two years ago, but thankfully they are in the clear now,
“The Irish Cancer Society were absolutely amazing to us,” expressed Charlene.
“On the day, I’m going to have an oncology stand with leaflets about all the different Cancers, from ovarian, to breast, to lung,” highlighted Charlene as to how she hopes to raise awareness on the day.
Community Support
From friends and family members offering to donate dresses, and from people sharing her post about the event online, Charlene has been overwhelmed with the amount of support she has received from her community.
“Just by contacting me, I’ve had so many people already this morning asking can they donate dresses because they have lost loved ones to cancer and they would like to give them to something like this.
“Every second household has someone who has gone through cancer, is going through cancer, or who they have lost to cancer.
“I just think its one of the most important charities out there to support,” she expressed.
Charlene is also really grateful to staff in Buddies who will be hosting her event at the event of March:
“Catherine and Finbar Ryan are hosting it for us. They are super people of the parish, they run the pub Buddy's,” said Charlene.
“Its going to be three hours of shopping and having a class of bubbles on arrival!” continued Charlene, highlighting what people can look forward to on the day.