Nearly every seat was filled Saturday evening as community members gathered for Redeemed & Restyled: A Vintage Fashion Benefit, raising support for two local nonprofits dedicated to helping women and families find healing, stability, and hope.
Hosted by Amadea, Southern Ivy Emporium, and Purvéy Minden, the June 27 fundraiser benefited Amadea and Phillip’s Cottage, organizations that provide mentorship, employment opportunities, life-skills development, and transitional housing for women rebuilding their lives.
The event opened with a marketplace from 4 PM to 6 PM, featuring vendors Southern Ivy Emporium, Rust Magnolias Marketplace, The Willow She, Dearest Daughter, and Gracefully Gathered. Guests also had opportunities to bid in a silent auction and enter raffles for numerous donated door prizes.
The evening program began at 6 PM with welcomes from Amadea founder Angela Yarborough and Phillip’s Cottage founder Sara McDaniel. A fashion show followed, featuring Amadea Girls modeling clothing from Purvéy Minden in a presentation by Kaylin MacDaniels.
Yarborough reflected on the partnerships that made the event possible and the regional support behind the organizations’ missions.
“We’ve got Ruston, Minden, Homer, Springhill, and Farmerville. I love that. I love that communities come together … when I look at this crowd, I feel humbled,” Yarborough said.
She described Amadea’s mission of walking alongside women facing difficult circumstances.
“We’re a nonprofit for women. We walk alongside these women who come from difficult life circumstances — anything you can imagine.”
Yarborough explained that Amadea initially focused on creative workshops before recognizing that many participants also needed stable employment.
“I’ve been a jewelry designer for over 20 years,” she said. “Our big picture plan for Amadea Designs is to have a full studio running where we are shipping out products and they have fulltime paychecks where they can take care of themselves.”
McDaniel spoke about the vision behind Phillip’s Cottage, which serves women with children graduating from the Louisiana Adult & Teen Challenge program.
“Minden has literally wrapped their arms around these girls, these families,” McDaniel said. “It’s really important that we provide this stepping stone for them to allow them to transition out into society.”
The keynote speaker, Jessica Jackson, shared her personal testimony of addiction, recovery, loss, and faith, describing how Yarborough helped transform both her life and her family’s future.
“I’m thankful every time God gives me the opportunity to share the miracles He performed in my life,” Jackson said.
She recounted more than two decades of addiction and unsuccessful attempts at recovery before entering a long-term rehabilitation program.
“In rehab I knew that 30 days was not going to be enough, that I would need way more time to clean up 23 years of drug use,” Jackson said. “The [long-term] program gave me a safe home to take my time to be restructured, re-taught, and ultimately transformed, because things like that cannot be rushed.”
After completing the program, Jackson reconnected with her children, including one son who was also battling addiction.
“It is a generational curse. These things are real, we can’t ignore them. Six 19-year-olds in my family have overdosed. Six. That’s a lot,” she said.
Jackson said her oldest son later died from an overdose while she was in recovery.
“I think it’s safe to say that everyone around me had doubts that I would ever recover from this, but my God had a totally different plan,” she said.
Describing the grief that followed, Jackson said she found peace through her faith.
“You may think I’m crazy, but I’m telling you the Lord of Lords came down and held me, and I woke up not the same. I woke up with a peace that surpasses all understanding. I woke up with a different foundation.”
Although grief remains, Jackson said it no longer controls her life.
“In our brokenness, God made us whole,” she said. “These people that I used, abused, and ran over loved me.”
She concluded by encouraging attendees to show compassion to others.
“I always thought I knew the way … but in trying all that the world had to offer me, I’ve come to know the truth: Jesus is the way. He is the only way for victory over bondage.”
“We have to love people. We have to love them like He loved us. If no one had shown me the love of Christ, I wouldn’t be standing here.”
At the conclusion of the evening, organizers thanked the event’s sponsors, volunteers, vendors, participants, and community supporters for helping make the fundraiser a success while advancing the missions of both Amadea and Phillip’s Cottage.
