May 2012 For immediate release

Fashion show to raise funds for Indian charities

Student fashionistas from Leeds Metropolitan University will take to the catwalk next week to raise funds for an annual volunteering trip to India.

The charity event, which is open to the public, will take place at 7pm on Monday 21 May at Old Broadcasting House at the Universitys city campus.

Talented local designers, including Leeds Metropolitan student Caroline Harris and lecturer Divine Charura will be showcasing their collections on the runway as part of the cause, which will see a group of students and volunteers travel to Bhopal, India in August.

Every penny raised from the fashion show will be used to support worthy projects in Bhopal, including: Bachpan, a non-governmental organisation which provides basic food and shelter for 35 boys rescued from railway platforms and Ekjut - a childrens home. Other causes that will benefit include Arushi, a clinic for children and young people with special educational needs and Sangini, a voluntary organisation which supports and offers counselling for women fleeing domestic violence and abuse.

Divine Charura, Leeds Metropolitan's Senior Lecturer in Psychological Therapies and Mental Health, who will be volunteering with the students in India and has organised the fashion show, said: This is the second year running that we have done this charity event. Last year was a great success and the money we raised went a long way in supporting very worthy causes.

Amongst the many charitable things we did in Bhopal, we managed to provide an exercise bike, physiotherapy items and walking frames for children with disabilities. We also supplied 35 shirts, mattresses, blankets, floor covers and buckets and provided lighting and improved the outside toilets at a shelter for children rescued from railway platforms. In addition the volunteering group donated funds which covered a years worth of education costs for 27 children in a childrens home.

Tickets for the fashion show cost 3.50. Some will be available on the door, or you can purchase them before the fashion show by contacting Divine Charura at Leeds Metropolitans City Campus on 07950648820 or Su Robinson at the Headingly Campus on 07825010386.

If you are a designer, a Leeds Metropolitan Fashion and Design student or are interested in modelling at the show please call Divine.

Ends

For further details please contact Julia Williams in the Communications team at Leeds Met on 0113 8125978 or email j.t.williams@leedsmet.ac.uk

Notes for editors: Leeds Metropolitan University has over 25,000 students and around 3,000 staff. The Vice Chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University is Professor Susan Price and the Chair of the Board is Lord Woolmer of Leeds. Leeds Metropolitans four faculties are: Arts, Environment and Technology, Business & Law, Health and Social Sciences, and Carnegie. Leeds Metropolitans heritage can be traced back to the founding of the Mechanics Institute in Leeds in 1824.

International students rated the University top in the UK for language support, accommodation quality and learning spaces in the 2010 Autumn Wave of the International Student Barometer and sixth in the world for the quality of its lectures. We have over 1,500 international students from 122 countries around the globe.

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