25th Annual SCO Fashion Show Draws Nearly 400 Supporters

SCO’s 25th Annual SCO Fashion Show benefit drew nearly 400 supporters at the Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove on May 7.  SCO used the opportunity to honor Lataysha Moore, an intrepid Brooklyn high school senior living in a homeless shelter, and longtime volunteers Laura Gay and Jean Simensky. The benefit raised funds to help SCO provide life-changing results for more than 60,000 people each year at over 110 locations throughout New York City and Long Island.

Moore, a resident of one of SCO’s homeless shelters in Bushwick, was awarded the Pat Brown Scholarship in recognition of her academic achievements and perseverance in the face of obstacles, which include excelling academically despite becoming homeless right before her senior year. The scholarship was launched last year in honor of Brown, a longtime SCO volunteer.

“All my life I had people tell me I would never amount to anything,” Laytasha said upon accepting the award. “I turned all that negativity into food to fuel my ambitions. Growing up in poverty is never easy, but the most important thing I learned from my mother’s experiences and living a life of displacement was how to prevent this from happening to my family.” Her ambition is to become an anesthesiologist.

“We deeply appreciate everyone who supports our mission to do whatever it takes to help promising young people like Lataysha to succeed in school and go on to build a life of promise,” said SCO Executive Director Gail Nayowith. “We are committed to providing life-changing programs for the children, youth, adults and families we serve.”

 See even more pictures from the event in the 4th Annual SCO Fashion Show Fundraiser photo album on Facebook.

Also on the SCO Family of Services Facebook page, be sure to check out all the night’s fashions in the SCO Fashion Event Runway Show photo album.

Watch Lataysha Moore accept the 2014 Pat Brown Scholarship: http://sco.org/2014-pat-brown-scholarship/

Watch Laura Gay and Jean Simensky reflect on their years of service with SCO: http://sco.org/sco-honors-laura-gay-jean-simensky/