Fit Right Fashion Show benefits Oregon Active

Raju Chuganey, Michelle Markoya, Brian Lasswell, Antje Fimmel

Portland, September 20th, 2013. Over 200 fitness buffs jumped at the chance to attend the Fit Right Fashion Show. The event raised awareness for Oregon Active— an organization dedicated to providing adventure therapy for people facing challenging conditions and drew fans like Michelle Markoya, Brian Lasswell, and Antje Fimmel. (Photo Credit, Steve Belinge) Oregon Active leaders explain, “We inspire through positive emotion, challenges, community support and a connection with the natural world that refreshes the human spirit.”

Outings include surfing, hiking, and fishing among other enrichment.

The benefit took place at Pure Space and was organized by West Coast Productions. Guests raised $1,500 for Oregon Active, by playing games of chance and sipping Barefoot wine and Widmer Brothers brews. Fifteen vendors, including Nike, Adidas, Lucy, The North Face, Brooks, and Icebreaker sold apparel at a discount—some of the items were made only available during the event. Local athletes, trainers, fitness instructors, and Olympians Kara and Adam Goucher strutted their stuff in the featured apparel.

Guests entered to collect goodie bags with items valued at over $75.

Elisa Ann Hatch Bennett, Lory Hefele

Jenny Hannson Vithayathil emceed for the evening and kept the crowd laughing throughout the show.

Devin Kelly, Oregon Active.

Monica Carlson

Nell Cox Gingerich, Molly McCluskey, David Sobolik, Derek Scott.

Scott Allen Brown.

Fit Right Northwest owner and Oregon Active supporter, Dave Sobolik, organized the fashion show benefit for the second year to raise funds for the organization that has truly “struck a chord” with Sobolik. The Adventure Programs funded by Oregon Active, strive to “inspire through positive emotion, challenges, community support and a connection with the natural world that refreshes the human spirit”, an aspiration in close alignment with Fit Right’s organizational values as well as Sobolik’s personal values—values of maintaining a healthy body and spirit, and acting as a positive contributing influence on the community.

The North Face was one of 15 vendors selling exclusive apparel and a discount for the Oregon Active benefit.

Local artist, Brian O’Dell, and Devin Kelly entertained guests with indie classics prior to the runway show.

Hilary Elgin, Adrienne Booth

Sobolik was pleased to have the ability to give back to Oregon Active and worked with West Coast Event Productions to execute the fashion show benefit at Pure Space. Sobolik and his team worked closely with West Coast’s technicians to ensure lighting, audio visual, and the right atmosphere would create an optimal environment for showcasing the apparel in the vendor booths, on the runway, and Oregon Active through an inspirational video and speech delivered by Oregon Active’s CEO, Devin Kelly.

About Oregon Active:

At Oregon Active we provide and faciliatate Adventure Therapy (AT) Programs. These programs inspire through positive emotion, challenges, community support and a connection with the natural world that refreshes the human spirit. We discover our abilities, values, passions, and responsibilities in situations that offer adventure and the unexpected. Our AT Programs undertake tasks that require perseverance, imagination, commitment and above all fun and excitement. We are motivated by creating learning situations that provide something important to think about as individuals and as part of a greater community.

“Adventure therapy offers access to the essential meanings of human life, as revealed both by the natural world and on that foundation it offers an examination of how personal lives and values fit with the underlying structures of humanness.”

Adventure Therapy (AT) Programs

Who these AT Programs Serve

Oregon Active provides these programs for people in our community with all types of disabilities and impairments. We aren’t as concerned about their life challenging condition as we are with their outlook on life. We engage them to discover their passions through a sense of adventure – to enhance personal development, develop life skills, and create lasting memories.

Where we find these amazing people

Oregon Active has had the pleasure to work with some amazing non-profits both locally and nationally. We have teamed up with Shriners Hospital for Children, The Dream Factory, Friends of the Children, Big Brother Big Sister, Cancer Care Resources, Challenge Aspen, Youth Employment Institute, First Descents, and Athletes 4 Cancer to name a few.

Oregon Active also finds a lot of the people we serve from our members and friends. We are always looking for new people to join our AT Programs. Whether their disability is physical, mental, cognitive, developmental or an impairment, we would love to try and help.

Elisa Klein

I’ve been a professional journalist and writer since 1987, (and long-time reporter for KOIN-TV.) As a nationally published reporter, with a Master’s Degree in Journalism, I love to report positive news and information. Journalism has also connected me with another non-profit where I served as a leader; the Northwest’s biggest writer’s organization: The Willamette Writers.