In burdensome times we often think that there is no light at the end of the tunnel, but if you take a closer look you will be able to see how much we can truly do when we all come together for something bigger. 

Project Hope is an organization within Timberlane Regional High School that raises money and awareness for cancer research, cancer patients, and support for our powerful survivors. 

A Project Hope fashion show is put on every year usually during the month of March and this event alone brings in hundreds of students, staff, families, friends, and many community members as a whole. The gym and cafeteria get decorated to the nines with a runway, backdrop curtains, and decorations everywhere you look relating to the theme that year.

During the show we have tons of student and staff models that “strut for a cure” down the runway in clothes and formal wear that we borrow by working with local stores. This event is our biggest fundraiser and helps our community tremendously. The Project Hope members get to have a blast while helping others at the same time, that sounds like a win-win situation!

Last year’s fashion show was the theme, “Out Of This World”, where decorations and props were made to be space themed. This year for our 12th big annual show we have planned the theme to be decades, specifically the 70’s. This era will entail disco balls, tie dye, hippy theme, and records. 

This all sounds so great, however a “slight inconvenience” is making everything in life a little more difficult unfortunately. You guessed it right, COVID-19 will make this large gathering slightly altered in order to ensure everyone’s safety and meet all regulations. May I add though that this circumstance will not stop our efforts to be there for those around us who need it the most.

Since we all still want this event to occur, our organization has planned and come up with ideas of how to make this a great experience for everyone while still being safe. With the large number of audience members who we usually welcome in person, the change will now be that we are watching “from a distance”, or in other words through a remote platform such as zoom or livestream.

Unfortunately, the positive energy that usually flows within our school during this night will have to be transferred online. Only the models, leaders, and leaders’ families most likely will be allowed in person to watch the show this year to ensure social distancing is in place, claimed Project Hope leader Gianna Rousseau. But with that being said, we can still provide that positive atmosphere and supportive environment even while not physically being in the same room.

This alteration will change what physically happens regarding having less of an audience per say, but it does not have to change our spirits! We are still going to help those who are facing cancer, provide support to those who have lost someone to cancer, and acknowledge those incredible survivors who we all can learn something from and their outlook on life.

Informational cancer ribbon colors:

We can always count on Timberlane Owls to not only be a fantastic fan base but an overall great system of support for our peers. I am optimistic that our towns can still be that giving community I know and “come together” without physically coming together through a goal for something much bigger than us all.