Finding a way to help

Seeing firsthand the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans inspired Kelsea Pastore to organize a fashion show to raise funds to help with reconstruction.

Pastore, a senior at James River High School in Chesterfield County, visited New Orleans with her church's missionary team a year after the 2005 hurricane and again last summer. She helped gut a house so that it could be rebuilt.

"Those two weeks that I went there were probably the best weeks of my life," she said. "It was really eye-opening to see what people had gone through because these are . . . people a few states away that lost everything."

On Friday, Pastore held a fashion show at New Life United Methodist Church in Midlothian to raise funds that will go to the Louisiana United Methodist Disaster Response Ministry, which provides assistance to missionaries going to work in the affected areas.

Pastore thought of the fundraising as an idea for her senior-year project for the county schools' Center for Leadership & International Relations at James River. The school has a partnership with the University of Richmond Jepson School of Leadership Studies.

Seniors do "capstone" projects such as fundraising or volunteering with schools and community organizations. This year, student projects include a soccer clinic for the Head Start program and a mock election.

"Kids try to tap into their talents to do these projects," said Sarah Mansfield, the center's director. Working on their tasks gives students a better understanding of the real world, she said. "I think they come out of high school so much more ready for the real world than they would have been before, because they have worked with people, because they have made mistakes and have learned from those mistakes," she said.

Pastore said she thought about combining her passion for fashion and entertainment with her life-changing experience in New Orleans for her capstone. She began organizing the Runway for Reconstruction project in January and began contacting businesses to help. South Moon Under in Short Pump donated the clothes showcased by 10 models at the fashion show.

"I've gotten so much free stuff and that has taken a load off me, because I don't have to worry about paying for anything," she said.

Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 649-6513 or .