By Shannon Hicks

The Newtown High School Charity Club is at it again. After raising over $1,500 for East Coast Assistance Dogs, Inc. through a Halloween Masquerade Ball last October and collecting over 70 bags of clothing which were donated recently to The Hope Chest of Danbury, club members are gearing up for their latest project: a fashion and talent show that will raise money to help one of their own friends.

On Wednesday, March 8, the public is invited to attend the NHS Charity Club Fashion Show. The event will be presented in the auditorium of Newtown High School, beginning at 7 pm.

Students of NHS have been volunteering to participate in the event, which will include students modeling the latest fashions in promwear/eveningwear and schoolwear/weekend wear. The fashion segments will be followed by a talent program, and then a question-and-answer round. Fifteen teachers from Newtown High School have volunteered to serve as the judges for the event.

The fashions are being loaned from a number of area businesses, with Julie Allen Bridals offering all of the formalwear for the event.

The most important thing the charity club wants the public to realize is that the emphasis of the upcoming show is on the students’ talents, not beauty. This is not at all a beauty pageant, members of the charity club underscored during a meeting at the school last week.

Students have been eagerly signing up to take part in the event, which will raise money through ticket sales and additional donations to help Greg Chion and his family pay for the costly treatments the NHS junior has been going through recently.

In December 1999, Greg was diagnosed with leukemia and Lyme Disease. Fortunately his prognosis is excellent. He has undergone chemotherapy, and his doctors have already found a perfect match for a needed bone marrow transplant. Greg’s sister Jen will be helping her brother for the transplant, which is expected to take place in mid-May.

According to a recent letter to The Newtown Bee from Greg’s mother Ginny, “the doctor hopes remission and a cure will be a reality by Greg’s birthday, July 26.”

“We want to fundraise to help offset the medical bills of Greg and his family,” NHS principal and Charity Club advisor Bill Manfredonia said. “All of the proceeds from this event are going to go directly to that family.”

Charity club co-president Liz Kochuba echoed Mr Manfredonia’s sentiments when she said, “We all know Greg, and we want to help him.

“We’re trying to get away from the idea of beauty,” she continued. “This is not a beauty pageant.”

Students participating in the show will be competing for prizes, not the least of which will be the crowning of the first-ever Miss and Mr Newtown High. Prizes have already been donated by a number of local businesses and individuals including dinners and gift certificates. Anyone who would like to add to the prizes should call the high school, at 426-7646, and leave a message for Bill Manfredonia or Charity Club co-presidents Lauren Coulter, Liz Kochuba and Erika Toi.

Anyone who will be unable to attend the fashion show but would like to continue the community’s ongoing efforts to help Greg Chion can send a check to the Newtown Charity Club in care of Newtown High School, 12 Berkshire Road, Sandy Hook, CT 06482. Checks should have “Greg Chion/Chion Family” noted on the memo line.