Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center
Denver, CO
| Co-Chairs | Sponsors | Emcee and Celebrity Guests | Guest Models | Event Committee | Press |
Special Guests & Honorees:
Music Icon Quincy Jones
John C. McGinley – 2011 Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award Recipient
Sujeet Desai – 2011 Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award Honoree
DeOndra Dixon – Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show 2011 Ambassador
A MESSAGE FROM THE GLOBAL DOWN SYNDROME FOUNDATION
Welcome to Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s 2011 Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show, a fundraiser for the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome at the Anschutz Medical Campus.
If you have been to our fashion show before you know that the highlight of the evening are the 25 Guest Models who rock the audience as they strut their stuff down the runway. The models happen to have Down syndrome, and represent both our challenges and our hopes.
We were delighted that earlier this year the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show received two prestigious honors – the ICON People’s Choice Award for Best Entertainment Concept and Execution and the ICON Judge’s Award for Best Social Event Produced for a Non-Profit Organization.
Jamie Foxx dances with his sister and 2011 Ambassador DeOndra Dixon at the 2011 Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show. Photo by PEOPLE Magazine.
For tonight’s fashion show, keep a special eye out for DeOndra Dixon, our 2011 Ambassador and 2009 Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award Recipient – she has some special moves in store for us! As you can tell, we are proud of our models and proud of our event!
Tonight’s event also provides us an opportunity to celebrate award-winning actor John C. McGinley, and musician Sujeet Desai, recipients of this year’s Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Awards. We are thrilled and honored that Music Icon Quincy Jones, our international spokesman, is here in person to present this award.
Integral to our fashion show are the caring, generous and talented celebrities who escort our Guest Models down the runway – Chauncey Billups, Kim Christiansen, 2011 Miss Colorado Diana Dreman, David Duval, Beverly Johnson, Ed McCaffrey, Peggy Tanous, and Billy Van Heusen. Please help us thank them for all they do to support our cause.
A huge thanks to Jamie Foxx, George Dixon, Annette Dixon, Deidra Dixon, and Anna & John J. Sie, who have led our fabulous Co-Chairs to raise funds that make a real difference for people with Down syndrome.
Since our last fashion show, the Foundation funded the first national poll on how mainstream Americans view people with Down syndrome. The results were happily positive and fly in the face of current funding levels and discriminatory practices.
We co-organized the First National Conference on Down syndrome with the National Institutes of Health in Maryland. We launched and organized ten programs servicing over 2,000 people with Down syndrome, their families and their care-providers. Our program partners include renowned members of the community – Ed McCaffrey, the Broncos Cheerleaders, the Nuggets Cheerleaders, Pure Barre, the Colorado Ballet, the Denver Zoo, Regis University, and the Colorado Rapids.
With the Foundation’s funding, the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome is engaging in critical immune deficiency research, and is now the largest, and I would argue best, provider of medical care for people with Down syndrome in the country.
We have much to be thankful for. The most heartfelt thank you to our 2011 Ambassador, DeOndra Dixon, to our Co-Chairs, Honorary Chairs, Honorary Committee, Sponsors, In-Kind Sponsors, Donors, Attendees, Event Committee, Volunteers, and the amazing staff at the Global Down Syndrome Foundation. It truly takes a village, and ours continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
We hope that each and every one of you tonight takes something inspirational away from this event and that you will see people with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities in a brilliant light.
With much gratitude and affection,
Michelle Sie Whitten
Executive Director, Global Down Syndrome Foundation
- Stars Come Out At Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show (PDF) Urban Spectrum, 11/1/11
- Jamie Foxx Serenades Sister With Heartfelt Song ET Online, 10/26/11
- Jamie Foxx surprised his sister, DeOndra Dixon, by serenading her with “Love Brings Change” at the ‘Be Beautiful Be Yourself’ fashion show and fundraiser in Denver – Wonderwall, 10/19/2011
- Be Beautiful, Be Yourself Jet Set Fashion Show draws a stellar lineup Denver Post, 10/18/11
- Annual fashion show brings out the stars and contributions for Down syndrome – The Denver Post, 10/18/2011
- Jamie Foxx challenges sister to dance contest – USA Today, 10/18/2011
- Jamie Foxx Serenades Sister With Heartfelt Song AOL, 10/15/11
Video
2011 Be Beautiful Be Yourself Celebrity Interviews
2011 Be Beautiful Be Yourself CBS4 News Highlights
2011 Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show
2011 Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show
PURSE-onality and the 2011 Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show – 9News
Tribute to DeOndra Dixon, 2011 Be Beautiful Be Yourself Ambassador
Entertainment Tonight – DeOndra Dixon and Jamie Foxx for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation
Provide in-kind services or products
Each year we rely on hundreds of in-kind sponsors to provide us (1) services and products that we would otherwise have to expense towards the event and (2) services and products for our important silent auction.
If you are interested in providing us such in-kind services or products, please contact us at info@globaldownsyndrome.org.
Experience our inspirational and groundbreaking videos and photos. Our children and self-advocates are beautiful AND brilliant!
Make sure your local Representatives are on the Congressional Down Syndrome Task Force.
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