Aveda's holiday fashion show will benefit the Fuller Center in Nepal

There are many ways to support The Fuller Center this holiday season, but few promise to be as fun-filled as Aveda’s Natural Alternatives Salon and Spa holiday fashion show this Sunday, December 4, in Knoxville, Tenn.

The fashion show will be inspired by Nepalese clothing, as the spa has been sourcing custom lokta bark gift-wrapping paper in Nepal since 2007. The paper, which is harvested from well-managed forests by local communities in the Himalayas, helps create jobs, particularly for women, and conserve the Nepalese forests through sustainable harvesting methods. Learn more about Aveda’s work in Nepal here.

Their work in Nepal highlights Aveda’s commitment to providing beauty and lifestyle products and services in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.

Their recent partnership with The Fuller Center for Housing also highlights their awareness of social issues such as poverty housing.

Leslie O’Tool and her husband Erin, both of whom work for the local Aveda, have been particularly instrumental in creating a soon-to-be Fuller Center covenant partner in Knoxville.

“We got to meet Leslie when she joined The Fuller Center’s Global Builder trip to the Congo," The Fuller Center’s Director of U.S. Field Operations Kirk Lyman-Barner said. "She also participated in the Millard Fuller Legacy Build in Webster Parish. Erin gave me a tour of one of their four incredible Aveda salons in Knoxville which employ about 100 very creative and talented people. They also shared with me the corporate social responsibility that’s part of Aveda’s passion.”

The O’Tools helped organize the fundraiser as a way to create awareness and funds for both The Fuller Center and Aveda’s local and international work.

“We want to tie the work that Aveda is doing in Nepal with the work we’re doing here and tie it in with The Fuller Center as well,” Erin O’Tool said.  “Our goal is to raise enough to build a house in Nepal, but we’re just trying to raise as much as we can, really … we’d like to raise enough to build a house here and build a house in Nepal.”

All of the funds raised at the fashion show will go toward The Fuller Center, specifically the Nepal covenant partner.

"The Fuller Center is fortunate to have such wonderful friends who can weave their work, which is perhaps better described as artistry, with a social cause that will help not only their own community of Knoxville but also in Nepal where The Fuller Center is building," Lyman-Barner said. "This event represents the synergy of fun and compassion and can serve as a model for all of our covenant partners across the country."

The local community has also rallied around the cause – the Hard Knox Roller Girls, a local roller derby league, has donated tickets to a show to give away at the event, and Mary’s Boutique and Tea at the Gallery, two local establishments, will co-host the event.

In addition to the fashion show, customers can purchase massages and facials and will save up to 20 percent if they purchase in bulk.

Other deals on the special day include a holiday gift card sale in which customers receive a $20 dollar Aveda product certificate with the purchase of a $100 gift card, complimentary mini-spa services, and personal shopping and gift solutions from the Aveda staff. A $5 donation will also enter customers into a drawing for an Aveda spa bathroom product makeover, which is valued at over $200, and a $10 donation will enter customers into a drawing for a makeover that will include a haircut, haircolor, makeup lesson and outfit from Mary’s Boutique.

Visit www.fullercenter.org next week to view photos from the event.