Fabulous Shoe Night events promote local charities

Doing charity work is party time as far as the nonprofit Fabulous Shoe Night is concerned.

Just ask any of the women who attend fundraising events organized by Henderson and Las Vegas chapter leader Carolyn Streva.

"Who doesn't like a ladies' night out with your fabulous shoes?", said Fernanda Guanci, who regularly attends the gatherings. "I definitely wear fabulous shoes. I always try to pick out shoes that are hot. I love to dress up."

Registration typically costs $25, with $20 of it going toward a local charity. Attendees also pay for their drinks and appetizers, which are usually offered at a discount courtesy of the respective venues, Streva said.

Fabulous Shoe Night events are usually held every two months, Streva said.

"The reason I do that is because there's always something going on in Vegas," she said.

An event held Oct. 9 at Sonrisa Grill, 30 Via Brianza at Lake Las Vegas, benefited Dignity Health's R.E.D. Rose Program, which promotes early breast cancer detection by providing free breast exams, mammograms, ultrasounds, surgical consultations and biopsies for women and men 49 or younger who lack sufficient health insurance.

Fabulous Shoe Night attendees must be 21 or older. They normally range in age from 21 to 70, and the events typically draw a minimum of 50 or 60 women, with the turnout sometimes topping 100, Streva said. She said participants don't necessarily have to wear pricey or showstopping footwear.

"Fabulous shoes doesn't mean like Louis Vuitton or other fancy shoes," she said. "It means any shoes that you feel fabulous in."

Kathy Kierejewski said she opts for more modest footwear but has friends who go all out.

"I'm the least fancy in the shoe department," she said. "I have friends that go that have hundreds of pairs of shoes that they choose from."

Another appealing aspect of the events is they allow women to hang out and socialize at venues around town they may not otherwise patronize, Streva said.

The Anthem resident became chapter leader in December 2013 after attending one of the organization's events. She said the role was a perfect fit because she loves volunteer work.

"I went to a Fabulous Shoe Night event, and I met the chapter leader for Las Vegas," Streva said. "We just hit it off. When we were talking, she confided in me that she was moving, and she asked if I wanted to do it."

In addition to the R.E.D. Rose Program, event beneficiaries have included Project 150, 6211 Dean Martin Drive, which offers support and services to homeless high school students; Dress for Success Southern Nevada, 3400 W. Desert Inn Road, Suite 25, which provides professional attire, support and career development tools for women; the Serving Our Kids Foundation, 360 E. Horizon Drive, which feeds homeless and at-risk children; and Santa Cops, a program run by the Metropolitan Police Department that provides Christmas presents for economically disadvantaged children.

Santa Cops is again set to be the beneficiary at a mother-daughter Fabulous Shoe Night brunch planned at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 6 at the Sonrisa Grill. Registration is $25, and the food tab is $20 for adults and $15 for children 13 or younger.

Guanci and Kierejewski plan to attend, they said.

"Even if I can't go to the events, I still donate because I think it's great they do something like this that brings awareness of all the local charities," Guanci said. "You have Goodie Two Shoes, you have Project 150, you have Santa Cops, you have breast cancer awareness — all these local charities that I think that people are not usually aware of, and this is a great way to go have a good time and learn about a different charity."

Visit facebook.com/fabulousshoenightlasvegas or fabulousshoenight.com.

— To reach Henderson View reporter Cassandra Keenan, email ckeenan@viewnews.com or call 702-383-0278. Find her on Twitter: @CassandraKNews.