Seattle Sunday: F-Factor Brings Fashion & Self Confidence to Foster Youth
I love Seattle Sundays. My initial idea was to focus a blog post on a different maker, boutique or fashionable person in Seattle every Sunday. It's been a wonderful opportunity for me to learn more about all the incredible people and places in Seattle. After more than a decade here, it turns out there is still much, much more to discover.
At the moment, I'm finding that the sheer volume of awesomeness is just too great. I hate to keep all this information to myself as I wait for the next Sunday to share another find. So, you'll be seeing Seattle "Sundays" nearly every day for a few posts. I just can't wait. The stuff is THAT good.
Let us begin.
F-Factor: Changing Lives One Child at a Time.
"I've always been inspired by women, and my mission was to inspire women. I always wanted to become a certain kind of woman, and I became that woman through fashion. It was a dialogue. I would see that the wrap dress made those women confident, and made them act with confidence."
And there you have it. F-Factor founder Ellen Young seeks to inspire foster youth to have confidence. Here's how:
1. Something new.
For many foster kids, seeing the tags on a piece of clothing is a rarity. With limited resources, donated clothes or hand-me-downs are the only options. And, of course, those can be incredible clothes. But, there's something about seeing that tag, knowing that you are the very first person to own this piece, that feels special. The F-Factor is committed to giving kids the opportunity to have that feeling.
2. The Power of Choice.
Something new is great. Something new that you chose for yourself... well, that's taking it to an entirely different level. Ellen was kind enough to invite me to help her shop for the recent Fashion and Fitness Workshop held at Ryther. F-Factor purchases plenty of extra pieces so that foster youth who attend the workshop have the opportunity to choose the pieces that they love, rather than leaving with items chosen by someone else. Even better, Ellen interviews the kids ahead of time so get a sense of each child's personal style and we use that info to guide us as we shop.
3. Role Models.
You can't dream of a job that you don't know exists or a lifestyle that you haven't been exposed to. The F-Factor seeks to offer foster girls and boys the chance to see confident, generous volunteers who care about them. At the recent Fashion and Fitness session, kids enjoyed learning about making healthy food from the chef/owner of Plum Bistro, tried Zumba and met two members of the Sea Gals. They learned about healthy choices and the importance of nutrition. And, let's not get started on the games...
The volunteer-run organization has an undeniable impact on the boys and girls it serves. And, we're pretty excited to be a part of this mission to use fashion as a tool to build confidence in foster youth. Want to help? You can donate or purchase F-Factor swag to support the work. Or, reach out to them directly.
Look at you, Dear Reader! Always helping out.
Folks on the Poplin Email list receive invitations to exclusive events, an e newsletter every other week and the opportunity to win super rad prizes from local makers and retailers. Interested? Sign up