A Fashionable Partnership with Wheaton Warrenville South High School with Budget Blinds of Wheaton & Lombard

"As a local entrepreneur and business owner, everything about the newly launched Incubator program in Wheaton High Schools appealed to us and we wanted to support it in any and every way that we could.", said Cheryl Henrikson, a local Budget Blinds franchisee.  In addition signing up to be an Incubator Coach and now also a Mentor, when the Wheaton Chamber's Women in Business Committee decided to make the Incubator program the recipient of funds raised from the 2017 Fashion Show, Cheryl was in full agreement.

From there, the more the Women In Business  Committee planned, the more opportunities to highlight Wheaton high school students became apparent. From live music as you entered the event to photographers, models (even principals!), and more - at every turn there was a way to celebrate the amazing abilities of Wheaton students . So when Nikki Doyle, Fine & Professional Arts Department Chair at Wheaton Warrenville South High School, and Cheryl happened to sit next to each other at a Women in Business meeting last May and and conversation turned to the design and fashion work that Nikki is doing with her students, it seemed a natural fit for the Wheaton Warrenville South Fashion Club students to make something for the runway out of drapery fabrics donated by the local Budget Blinds office.

Nikki and Cheryl collaborated on fabric pairings, and once the yardage arrived to the school, Nikki and her students got to work. "What they created is exciting, on trend, and definitely fashion forward.", said Cheryl. "The students wearing their looks on the runway was a major highlight of the event - people were blown away to learn how the Fashion Club had created those amazing pieces. It was such a pleasure to give them the cheers and applause that they worked hard for."

"This is the best part of being a local business owner.", Cheryl said. "We're so proud to have been able to contribute the fabric for their creations, to be a part of the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce, and to be a part of this community where these kinds of partnerships and opportunities to support each other abound."