On Saturday, April 9th, the GERLL Club hosted its second Fashion Show! The event, which raised funds for the Girls’ Leadership Scholarship Fund, hosted over 100 guests at The Stewart Manor Country Club. Faculty, administration, alumni, current students, parents, and even incoming freshmen and their parents attended the show, which was a great show of support across our community. Ms. Kerry Henning, guidance counselor and co-chairwoman of the event, said, “The current students welcomed the incoming freshmen and their mothers, who were very excited to become part of our Molloy family in such a genuine and fun way.”
The clothes that were modeled were donated by a new business called RUSE, owned by a young, female business owner. Jess, the owner of the company, was “positive, kind, accommodating, and supportive of our cause,” said Ms. Henning. Models included students, staff, and faculty, as well as family members and friends. These were: Students Keren Elmore ‘22, Klara Veresmortean ‘22, Margaret Kelly ‘22, Autumn Hill ‘22, Ashley Lancer ‘22, Molly McGuinness ‘22, Joe Bruno ‘22, Michael Providence ‘22, Cade Jaipaul ‘22, Joe Ciaccio ‘22, and Andrew Zalot ‘22; faculty and staff members Brian Yuska, Ed Cameron, Chris Autura ‘16, Brian Kelly ‘94, Michele McGrade, Mary Edward ‘13, Danielle Santucci-Gracchi, Dr. Penikas; and special guest Finn Penikas!
In the words of Ms. Henning, “The event was filled with warmth, joy, positivity and lots of love in the air. Everybody came together for a great cause and in turn won raffles, raffle baskets, shared a lot of laughs, enjoyed a beautiful fashion show, a delicious meal and danced the afternoon away. It was a very positive, fun, and intergenerational event. It truly was a wonderful afternoon.”
The three chairwomen of the event - Ms. Henning, Ms. Sabina Kobinski, and founder of GERLL club Ms. MaryAnn Safrey - each gave a short speech highlighting women in our society, gender equality, and women in history. During Ms. Kobinski’s speech, she took a special moment to acknowledge beloved friend and coworker Janice Rothe (Bonczek), who had recently passed away. Ms. Rothe was the very first woman in Molloy’s IT department, and a role model for Stanner women interested in STEM. Those in attendance paused for a moment of silence for Ms. Rothe.
A very special thanks to all of the faculty who volunteered their time to set up, organize raffle baskets, register guests, and model! More thanks to alumni Tim Henning who volunteered to DJ; Tim Sullivan and John McGuinness for working behind the scenes; future Stanner Matthew Mcguinness for his endless assistance; Jim Sheehan who entertained the crowd with beautiful music during cocktail hour as well as accompanying seniors Molloy McGuinness and Joe Bruno as they sang to the crowd.
And of course, congratulations to our three Cash Calendar winners, especially the big winner Theresa Krische, who is a huge supporter of the Girls’ Leadership Scholarship Fund.
The Girls’ Leadership Scholarship Fund benefits talented female students entering Molloy in the future. You can support this wonderful cause by making a gift at www.molloyhs.org/donate/ and selecting Girls’ Leadership Scholarship Fund from the dropdown menu.
Photos by Daphne Camacho '22.