With 15 committees ranging from fundraising to set design, there are countless ways students are getting involved with The Fashion Show at Iowa State. This year, The Fashion Show has introduced a new philanthropy committee to focus on giving back to the Iowa State community and beyond.

The committee is directed by Katherine Fisher, senior in apparel, merchandising and design, along with two co-directors Kellie Roth, senior in event management and Olivia Wabbe, junior in apparel, merchandising and design.

The three of them, along with five other members, meet weekly to brainstorm and discuss their collective goals and expectations for their committee.

“It’s a lot of newness for us, but it’s been really fun to kind of create our own path,” Fisher said.

This year, the Philanthropy Committee is partnering with one national, one local and one on campus organization. All the organizations promote different aspects of being confident.

“One of my core values would definitely be confidence, and I think that’s pretty important in everyone and you get pretty far in life if you’re confident and have that ability to be confident,” Roth said. “Being able to partner with these organizations that all promote confidence was something I really couldn’t say no to.”

The national organization the committee is partnering with is Days for Girls. Through this organization, volunteers help sew menstruation kits for women in countries where feminine care is not easily accessible.

Days For Girls has provided kits and feminine care education to over one million women in over 125 different countries. Saturday, the Philanthropy Committee hosted a “sew day” in the Lebaron Sewing Labs where students could sew reusable feminine care and hygiene kits that will be shipped to developing countries. Their goal was to make 50 kits which they exceeded by making 75.

Wabbe said even this partnership relates to the committee’s overarching theme of confidence, as Days for Girls helps give girls the confidence to go about their lives during their menstrual cycles.

Another organization the committee is partnering with is Dress for Success.

Dress for Success is a local organization that helps provide professional attire to women who cannot afford it. On campus, the Philanthropy Committee will be reaching out to different departments and putting boxes out for donations.

Along with professional clothing, Dress For Success also provides many other types of resources to help women thrive professionally.

“They do so much more than just give clothes,” Wabbe said. “They take those women in and give them mock interviews and give them resume tips.”

Wabbe also said the organization provides gas money and umbrellas to help women get to job interviews safely.

The committee also collaborated with Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness (BIEDA), an on campus organization, for the “Love Your Selfie” event on Friday. Students had a polaroid picture of them taken and wrote something positive about themselves under their picture. The photos and messages then were posted on a “selfie” wall to promote self-love around campus.

The committee hopes to help promote confidence across campus through BIEDA as well as spread awareness about the organization.

“I’m already a new person learning about [BIEDA] so if I tell someone who doesn’t know, it’s kind of a domino effect,” Fisher said.