The Florentinta Charity Fashion Show took place last Saturday at Monte Vale d’Éguas Restaurant in Almancil. Over 120 people attended to watch glamourous models strut their stuff and showcase a selection of clothes available from Florentinta.
The fashion show raised in excess of €2,500 which will benefit two charities – Rotary Club Estoi Palace International (RCEPI) and the Goldra Dog Sanctuary, near Loulé.
RCEPI is “committed to helping the underprivileged in the local community and making a lasting impact for those living in the Algarve”. The Club has been instrumental in the purchase of a refrigerated truck for the Faro Food Bank, a fully-equipped ambulance for the São Brás Bombeiros, the unit that houses the breast screening equipment for the Algarve Oncology Association (AOA) mobile breast screening vehicle and a van for the AOA last year to provide mobile screening for lung cancer.
This year, the Club has helped to raise funds for an Estoi teenager, Margarida, who needs two operations to ensure she will not spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair, as she was born with a congenital hip defect.
The Goldra Dog Sanctuary is located at Goldra, near Loulé. There are over 80 dogs that need daily care. The sanctuary is run by volunteers and supported by various fundraising events, sponsors and donations.
Jan Henderson lives on site and cares for the animals on a daily basis. Most of these dogs have been abandoned and many require medical attention. The sanctuary cannot care for all the existing street dogs, but the ones who are taken in are nursed back to health and will always have a home here if they are too old for adoption or need specific support. Many of these dogs are ready to go to a new home.
Fashion show host Gail McAteer, who owned the long-established company Florentyna Dawn in the UK, has over 30 years’ experience in the fashion and design industry and has expert knowledge in dressing women of all shapes and sizes.
Here in the Algarve, Florentinta has established itself over the last three years in Almancil as “the place to go for Frenchic chalk paint”. Florentinta has since opened a new boutique in Tavira and the Almancil shop will now continue to handle the painting side of the business to complement Crown Paint, which is in the same unit. The new shop in Tavira houses the fashion side of the business.
