Laurie Hollander greets Staff Sgt. Tim Brown and Master Sgt. John Masson, both of whom received minivans.
A fashion show at the Ridgefield Playhouse this Wednesday, May 6, will benefit an Easton-based charity that serves men and women wounded in military service.
When Laurie Hollander’s two sons from a first marriage both volunteered for military service in 2006, she felt proud but worried, since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were raging.
Daily reports of casualties and severely wounded service members who survived combat but lost limbs and suffered other life-changing injuries raised her anxiety level and made her want to do something about it.
“I feel sad for the rest of America who doesn’t miss their child as much as a deployed child,” Hollander said. “They never really know how to count as many blessings as they have in a day.”
She got together with her best friend, Marybeth Vandergrift, and the two started with a simple goal: To make a difference in the lives of the most severely wounded service men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, she met and married Ted Hollander of Easton in 2007, and the family has called Easton home ever since.
In December 2009 the trio got together with friends and founded Help Our Military Heroes (HOMH). Since then HOMH has awarded dozens of adaptive minivans to “some of our nation’s most deserving, and most inspiring, service men and women,” as Hollander describes it.
“We are three people who love each other and get out and give people an opportunity to contribute, to participate,” Hollander said. “At first, 300 to 500 people reached into their pockets and pulled out $10 or $20 and asked their friends to do the same.
“Another beautiful addition to this Easton service quilt I am stitching together as best I can is Ms. Lauren DiNardo.”
DiNardo grew up in Easton and was educated in the Easton schools. She returns home most weekends to her parents’ house. She is a successful fashion designer and champion for social and community causes.
For the fourth year in a row, DiNardo selected a charity to which to donate the proceeds from one of her couture fashion shows, and this year she chose HOMH.
The upcoming rock ’n’ roll Keep It Badass fashion show at the Ridgefield Playhouse takes place on Wednesday, May 6. The show starts at 6:30 p.m. with an X-rated Fusion Liqueur tasting courtesy of Campari America and cookies courtesy of Elizabella’s, plus many more treats and festivities, before the rock ’n’ roll couture fashion show at 7:30.
Retired U.S. Army Master Sgt. John Masson will be the guest speaker at the May 6 benefit and is the recipient of one of the fully equipped adaptive minivans.
“My family and upbringing gave me a strong sense of service,” DiNardo said. “My grandfather fought in World War II and survived, earning two Gold Stars. He came to Bridgeport, not speaking English, and built an incredible life. My grandmother taught me how to sew my own clothes.”
She was raised with a sense of always trying to do more and taking care of each other and the community. First responders and hospital workers are among her family members.
This has inspired the sort of models she chooses for her shows. Her models are role models and include firefighters, police officers, first responders, military service members, cancer survivors, and philanthropists.
Tickets cost $25, with all proceeds benefiting Help Our Military Heroes, and may be ordered by calling the box office at 203-438-5795 or online atridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a not-for-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield.
Meanwhile, Hollander’s son, Robert Wilkinson, 30, did two tours with the U.S. Marine Corps and is no longer in active service. Her other son, Capt. Matthew Wilkinson, 28, graduated in 2010 from West Point and is on active duty out of Fort Hood with the U.S. Marines.
“We believe our friends, veterans, fire, police, EMS, and all will be richly rewarded by attending this event, as two of HOMH’s wheelchair-accessible, fully funded by HOMH, minivan recipients will be the special guests of honor,” Hollander said.
For more information about HOMH, visit HelpOurMilitaryHeroes.org. For more information about Lauren DiNardo, visit keepitbadass.com.