We have been meeting weekly in the Mary Carter Library on Wednesdays since January – “we” meaning Nadia Horchler and Nayra Garcia, the RHS student directors of the May 21st Main Line Student Fashion & Design Show.
We settled on a date, time, 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm, and place, “The Big Room” at Ludington Library, followed by refreshments and live music in the Bryn Mawr Gazebo or, in case of rain, the Spring House.
During the last week of April, Radnor High School celebrated “Kindness Week” with themed days such as “THANKFUL Thursday: Show gratitude all day by appreciating people who have helped you along the way.”
“Wear something orange to show your support for kindness!”
The week ended with “Friendly FRIDAY: Kindness is the RADNOR WAY. Wear your Radnor apparel and do something sweet for someone today!”
Also, written on colorful post-it notes placed on windows were peer-to-peer words of wisdom and friendship. “Keep Your Head Up! Call Someone You Love! Keep Going. You ARE smart (heart). You Are Strong (heart).”
These sentiments are exactly what the 15th Annual Teen Learning Community Student Fashion & Design Show is all about.
Opportunities to be smart, strong, kind, loving, creative, wise, helpful, and friendly.
It just so happened that during Radnor’s Kindness Week, we received very good news. Three Radnor High School designers and a vocalist, and two singer-songwriters from Lower Merion High School will be participating in our May 21st show at Ludington Library.
Our RHS Faculty Advisor Mrs. Melanie Pereira has already encouraged us with peeks at the smart designs and lovely clothing which her Textile Arts Class students have been making.
Since the show began in the Spring of 2007, all of our efforts have been directed toward raising awareness and money for The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, the offices of which are located in Lower Merion.
We took a hit when the March 12, 2020 COVID shutdown was announced, forced to cancel our anticipated show at Main Line Art Center in Haverford.
Nevertheless, in 2021-22, through the ingenuity and planning of Radnor’s Kaitlyn May, we were able to partner with Rose Weathers and Ava Grabar, now Harriton Seniors, who were staging concerts showcasing bands and singer-songwriters in the Bryn Mawr Gazebo and green space.
On Sunday, September 26, 2021 nearly a hundred guests visited the merchandise unit of the Teen Learning Community Student Fashion & Design Show Preview.
The actual, full-fledged event was held in May 2022 at the Bryn Mawr Gazebo and Spring House again to benefit The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.
Three designers set up sale-tables at the preview event, Kaitlyn May of Radnor High School who was also the Student-Director of the May 2022 show, Amanda Olin of Lower Merion High School, and jewelry designer Noa Fohrer of Lower Merion.
This Teen Learning Community Fashion & Design Show endeavor was started by my Lower Merion Latin students Maddie Ballis, Cara Piccoli (now M.D.) and Jenny Smolen.
In the past 15 years, Teen Learning Community has raised thousands of dollars to support a range of non-profits and is poised to develop even more opportunities for area students.
Students from numerous schools on the Main Line have used their skills, talents, and networking to raise money or provide services to The Main Line Art Center, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, and The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in memory of LMHS musician Josh Sack.
Also, over the years, we have geared our efforts toward The Lower Merion Township Scholarship Fund, Ronald Mc Donald House, Katie-At-The-Bat, LMHS’S Maestro and the Lion Program, Aids Alive & Speak UP!, LM-Narberth PATV, and Radnor Studio 21.
Projects have included the Dr. Joseph W. Foote Memorial Youth Football Clinic, “The Apron Project” developed by Grace McDonnell of Friends Central, Garden Building at Main Line Art Center conducted by students from Delaware Valley Friends School, Lower Merion, and The Haverford School, and concerts at World Café Live, MilkBoy Coffee in Ardmore, Haverford College, Harriton H.S., and Lower Merion H.S.
Teen Learning Community was originally indebted to the support and efforts of various community professionals including Joe Sullivan of Pepper Hamilton, LLP who arranged for legal advice and non-profit status incorporation.
Cathy Brown Hinton of Bryn Mawr Trust, now WSFS, facilitated the start of a bank account for TLC as a Non-Profit/Non-Stock Corporation.
To raise start-up funds, Hal Real of World Café Live and Jamie Lokoff of MilkBoy Coffee made possible innumerable fundraising concerts.
Lindsay Taylor, formerly director of Lower Merion Parks and Recreation, and Donna Heller have provided the use of township parks and facilities; early on, Judy Herman, former executive director of The Main Line Art Center, opened the doors of the galleries for the annual Fashion and Design Shows.
Over the years, former editor Susan Greenspon, and now Cheryl Rodgers, Bruce Adams, and Richard Ilgenfritz of Main Line Media News have dedicated invaluable advice and coverage for announcements, articles, and photos.
All told, Teen Learning Community represents a dynamic and multi-dimensional opportunity for students in the Main Line and their friends and colleagues from surrounding schools to create, design, compose, invent, and innovate as a complement to their school activities.
We are grateful to Debbie Niggeman, owner of Arrowroot Farmacy and Café of Bryn Mawr, who has provided organic cookies, brownies, and juices for various receptions.
For information about TLC activities and events, contact Founder-President Mary Brown: mbrown@sju.edu. For additional history developed by Claire DeVerter of Harriton H.S., go to twitter teenlearning@fashionmainline.
Back to Radnor’s Kindness Week for meaningful final words of encouragement, LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE.
Mary Brown, a steering committee member of the Coalition for Youth of Lower Merion and Narberth, is a guest teacher in Latin and mentor at Radnor High School.
