By Margaret Frymire
Miss Alabama and a Vestavia Hills salon owner are teaming up to bring a bit of the hot Miami fashion scene to the Over the Mountain area next week in an effort to help children with autism.
On May 21, the first-ever show will be presented by Joelle Salon and will feature Miss Alabama. The fashion show will be poolside at The Hill, a luxury apartment building in the heart of Homewood. It will benefit P.A.W.S. for Autism, a local nonprofit that promotes autism awareness and helps make service dogs available to children and families dealing with autism.
Anna Laura Bryan, the reigning Miss Alabama, started P.A.W.S. (People and Animals Working Side-by-Side) for Autism five years ago. She said she began the organization in an effort to promote autism awareness, educate the community on the use of autism service dogs and help make those dogs available to families in need.
“When I was in high school I started working with the Ellis family on autism awareness events. They were family friends who had a daughter diagnosed with autism. When I saw what the family went through on a daily basis living with a family member with autism, I was convicted,” Anna Laura said. “When I decided to compete in the Miss America System, there was no question what my platform would be–autism awareness.”
Anna Laura said she needed to narrow her topic within the autism spectrum. When the Ellis family got a service dog to assist with their daughter Brayden, Anna Laura knew what she wanted to do.
“When I saw the miraculous work these service dogs did for their children, I knew autism service dogs were what I wanted to promote. Thus, P.A.W.S. for Autism was born,” Anna Laura said. Children with autism deal with a variety of symptoms. And while service dogs cannot help all families, they are a great fit for many, she said.
“Whatever the child does, the dog is trained to know it, prevent it, stop it or lessen the severity,” Anna Laura said. “For example, some children with autism experience pica, which is an appetite for inedible substances, such as clay, chalk, dirt or sand. If the child starts eating something it’s not supposed to, the dog may bark, alerting an adult, or start nuzzling him in an attempt to distract him or her.”
Anna Laura said these training dogs can cost families anywhere from $12,000 to $25,000.
After she competed in the Miss America pageant, the Evans family contacted Anna Laura asking for financial assistance from P.A.W.S. in purchasing Cooper, a $12,500 service dog, for their 3-year-old daughter, Ara, who has epilepsy and autism.
Anna Laura knew she wanted to help, but with her schedule as Miss Alabama, she also knew fundraising would be difficult. That’s where Joelle Salon, the official hair sponsor of Miss Alabama, came into play.
“I was in Joelle’s Salon one day, my fabulous hair sponsors, and they were talking about wanting to do a Miami-style fashion show for charity, but they weren’t sure which one. I started telling them about my situation and it went from there,” said Anna Laura.
Dona Bullock and her daughters, Mandie Joelle Powell and Danielle Powell Wilson, own and operate the salon on Old Rocky Ridge Road, together making up Team Joelle.
Dona, an award-winning hairstylist who has competed in Paris and across the U.S., said that when she opened the salon with her daughters, she wanted it be different. She and her team of stylists set out to have a philanthropic salon.
“I wanted to teach the younger girls about giving back. My first salon was a lot about survival. I wanted this salon to be a giving salon,” said Dona. “It’s been a beauty to watch these young girls learn what it means to be a giver.”
Dona, who lives in Homewood, said the vision for the Sunset in Miami event was born when she was watching TV one day and saw a poolside fashion show in Miami. She said she woke up the next morning, looked out her balcony and realized The Hill was the perfect venue for the fashion show.
“I didn’t know what to do with my the vision. I said, ‘Okay, God, what do I do with this?'” she said.
A week later, Anna Laura Bryan came in the salon, along with Megan LaRussa, creator of Southern Femme, styling service and blog. Dona said once the three of them started talking, she knew how her fashion show vision benefiting charity could become a reality.
“I called my ‘Ocean’s Thirteen.’ I called all the top people I know in town for my first meeting on a rainy, ugly Monday, and they all showed up,” she said.
Dona said she was thrilled to see what God had planned and kept thinking about the child that would benefit from getting the service dog.
“I love givers. I love people that are strong and say I’m willing (to help),” Dona said.
With Miss Alabama and Joelle Salon collaborating with businesses from around the city, the Sunset in Miami fashion show details began to work themselves out, Dona said.
Twenty contestants from the Miss Alabama pageant will model Miami-esque clothing from Gus Mayer and The Clothes Tree. Joelle Salon will style the models’ hair, and Gus Mayer will complete the models’ look with expert makeup design.
Live entertainment, hors d’oeuvres and wine will be provided by United-Johnson Brothers of Alabama, and beer will be provided Piggly Wiggly.
Dorothy McDaniel’s Flower Market is creating floral arrangements for the event. The night will be documented by Element of Photography.
Tickets are $28 in advance from Joelle Salon or $30 at the door.
For more information on next week’s fashion show in Homewood, call Joelle Salon at 639-1455 or visit www.joellesalon.com.
