Community Champion Award: Ann Marie Nordby

A good fashion sense isn’t something you would look for on a volunteer’s resume, but Ann Marie Nordby isn’t your average volunteer. She found a way to use her love for fashion to help women and children in domestic abuse situations, utilizing her own background and talents to help those in needs.
 
The actress from Chicago started as a volunteer in the resale store for Women In Need Growing Stronger (WINGS), selling high-quality secondhand items to raise money for the non-profit.  As Nordby became increasingly involved with the organization, she said she wanted to raise awareness of the stores and what they carry in an exciting and different way.
 
She eventually came up with the idea of putting on a fashion show using clothes and accessories from the resale stores WINGS runs. The event serves as a way to not only showcase the latest fashions found at the stores, but also to raise awareness of WINGS and how it serves the community. Often working ten-hour days to put the shows together, Ann Marie said she hopes to provide valuable support to WINGS and the women that it serves.
 
“It’s fun and it’s exciting, but to see the women and children coming into the stores and knowing that what we’re doing is making a difference for them, that’s the whole reason we’re there,” she said.
 
Thanks to Nordby’s creative genius and innovation, the show has proven extremely successful. WINGS volunteer coordinator Beth Lye estimates that in the three years of its existence the show has brought in close to $50,000 dollars. This totals more than 30 percent of the organizations overall budget. Lye said that amidst a difficult economy and government spending cuts, such sources of funding are invaluable.
 
“Without the resale stores, we couldn’t be in existence,” she said.
 
With a little innovation and a lot of passion, what started out as a simple volunteer opportunity for Ann Marie turned into an immeasurable contribution to WINGS and the women and children it serves.