B

Hope and Thrive Academy will host its “Hello World” Celebration Banquet and Fashion Show September 21 at First Presbyterian Church in Morristown.

The fashion show, with a theme to showcase art and fashion around the world, will be held in the church gym.

This year, tickets for the banquet which includes a catered meal, and the fashion show are free.

Donations will be collected and a love offering will be taken to provide scholarship funds for students of Hope & Thrive Academy.

The show will feature 30 models with disabilities to build public awareness and celebrate their ability to contribute to the arts.

Last year, students began exploring careers in the arts industry in the program’s Job Skills Training Class. The school has been continuing the incorporation with the show’s theme.

Students will be taught to prepare simple recipes from other countries. The school will also participate in community international activities like the HOLA International Food Festival.

However this year the school will also connect its Foreign Studies program to the fashion show.

The school will invite guest speakers who are natives to countries around the world to come in and speak to students and share about their culture, traditions, language, art and food.

This year the fashion show will be a partnership with Bambi Pelham at Walter State Community College who will be the co-emcee again this year. Pelham is also the faculty advisor for WSCC’s International Club.

Tracy Lewis, Director for Hope & Thrive Academy, said her goal for this particular show is to help students in the school experience different cultures.

“Many of our students live on a fixed income and can’t travel outside the state of Tennessee, let alone to another country,” Lewis said. “So, I thought if they can’t travel to the nations, let’s bring the nations to them.”

Hope and Thrive Academy is a program that has provided post-secondary education to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities for the past 10 years.

It’s designed to assist students in attaining maximum independence, social maturity, and spiritual growth.

“I created this organization after seeing the need for transitional services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. After they graduated from high school there were limited opportunities for them to transition into the community,” said Lewis.

The academy is a program of Holston United Methodist Home and is located inside First Presbyterian Church in Morristown.

The academy offers several programs that help strengthen students’ independence and further their education.

Its Book Club is a way for students to strengthen their reading skills while also having conversations on the topic they are reading about.

The job skills program helps students to connect with local businesses and gain employment.

Through the academy’s life training and personal finance programs students learn how to live on their own while also how to save money.

For more information on the Hope and Thrive Academy, the “Hello World” fashion show or how to donate to the organization please call 423-787-8753.