VILLANOVA — Jeptha Abbott DAR welcomed another beautiful Spring day with their annual fashion show fundraiser at Overbrook Country Club, Villanova, PA, on April 12, 2023. One hundred members and friends watched models don trends of the season from Lilly Pulitzer. Guests could also buy jewelry and accessories from Lisi Lerch, Milica in the Hat, and Lilly Pulitzer, as well as take a chance on the many raffle baskets.
Proceeds benefit the DAR’s Helen Pouch Junior Membership Teachers’ Classroom Grant Award Program, which is part of the Helen Pouch Memorial Fund (HPMF). The fund was named in memory of Helen Pouch (1901-1919), the daughter of Helena R. Pouch, who became the first national chair of the DAR Junior Membership Committee in 1937 and later served as President General from 1941-1944.
Authorized in 1938, the Helen Pouch Memorial Fund finances projects chosen by the Junior Membership Committee with the approval of the National DAR Executive Committee. Funding includes contributions to the DAR Schools, the National Junior Committee Project, and the Junior Membership Teachers’ Classroom Grants Program. The grants program supports two grants of $500 each for two classrooms in each state and the District of Columbia, totaling $51,000. Classroom teachers for grades kindergarten through 12th grade are eligible to apply. Applicants must be endorsed by a local DAR chapter and complete the grant award application before May 1, 2023, by clicking here Helen Pouch Classroom Grant Application.
It has been a long-standing chapter tradition that the Juniors of the chapter organize the fashion show, which first started in 1934. Jeptha Abbott DAR Junior Member of the Year Leila Gresh was chairwoman of the event, and Karen Franks Zetterberg, Alexa Grollman, Gayla McCluskey, Emily and Abby Nicholson, Susan O’Donnell, and Katie and Rowan Pryma modeled fashions by Lilly Pulitzer.
In addition, at the luncheon, Jeptha Abbott Regent Teri Fischer received the “Patriot of the Year” award from General Anthony Wayne Society Children of the American Revolution (C.A.R.). PA C.A.R. State President and National Awards Chairman William Gresh presented the award.
“I was pleased to welcome everyone to our fashion show luncheon fundraiser. Our chapter selflessly gives in support of Historic Preservation, Education, and Patriotism, and I’m sure this time is no exception,” said Regent Teri Fischer. “Leila Gresh has worked hard in planning this luncheon so that we can fundraise towards the DAR’s Helen Pouch Junior Membership Teachers’ Classroom Grant Award Program. I am so proud of her and our chapter’s generosity. And I was touched and honored to receive the Patriot of the Year Award.”
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a women’s service organization whose members can trace their lineage to an individual who contributed to securing American independence during the Revolutionary War. Today’s DAR is dynamic and diverse, with over 185,000 members in 3,000 chapters in the United States and abroad. DAR members annually provide millions of hours of volunteer service to their local communities across the country and the world. In addition, DAR chapters participate in projects to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. Over one million members have joined the organization since its founding in 1890. Go to www.dar.org.
