A Celebration of Style at The Exchange
A Celebration of Style at The Exchange
On Wednesday 14th August The Exchange, #Nottingham’s
longest established premier shopping scheme, will host a unique fashion
event – NotaFashion Show – on behalf of youth charity NYAS.
NYAS is
England and Wales’ leading provider of advocacy to young people and
vulnerable adults, working to provide a voice on behalf of the 66,502
young people in care, ensuring their rights are heard at crucial times
in their lives.
This summer, NYAS is launching a national campaign
to highlight the experiences of these children and will be hosting three
events across England. These will be headlined as ‘A Celebration of
Style – NotaFashion Show; an ‘Inclusive’ NOT ‘Exclusive’ event, one of
which will take place at The Exchange to tie in with International Youth
Day.
NYAS will select people who ‘display their individuality’ to
walk a Red Carpet in the centre of each city to music of their own
choice. This will Include Civic
dignitaries, members of the Judiciary, the Police and Spiritual leaders
from different denominations who will wear their ‘Robes of Office’ to
represent the responsibility they hold to society as a whole and
particularly to vulnerable young people. Also invited will be others who
express themselves through the clothes they wear as well as young
people who have been in, or are in care and their friends.
The
event will highlight the vast range of cultural differences within our
cities and the fact that all of us are individuals and are entitled to
the same opportunities.
Neil Fincham, The Exchange’s Centre Manager
said, “NotaFashion Show was held in The Exchange last year and was a
fantastic, well attended and life-affirming event. The show is an
excellent way to highlight the issues NYAS are tackling, particularly
given that all of the participants are regular people who enjoy
expressing themselves through fashion.
The Exchange is delighted once again to offer its support for a truly worthwhile cause.”
Some of the statistics on young people in care are quite frightening and speak for themselves.
• Over 50% of the children in care have been in more than four care placements.
• Children in care are 10 times more likely to be excluded from school.
• 7% go into higher education compared with 50% of young people.
• 27% of the prison population are care leavers.
• 50% of people in prison under the age of 25 have been in care.
• 50%of care leavers develop or have a mental illness.
These facts demonstrate that there are many young people in care who are in danger of becoming a lost generation.
At each event, NYAS will invite the dignitaries and members of the
general public to sign a pledge confirming they will support NYAS in its
campaign to improve opportunities for these children.
NotaFashion Show will take place in The Exchange’s main arcade from 6.00pm on Wednesday 14th August, and is free to all.