Students host 'recyclable fashion' and talent show

By Ms. Elyssa Vondra (Fort Jackson)August 16, 2018

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1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Youth from Fort Jackson school-age centers model recycled outfits and show off their skills in the post's first-ever 'recyclable fashion' and talent show Aug. 10. Singers, dancers, cheerleaders and models graced the stage in the two-hour-long show th... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Youth from Fort Jackson school-age centers model recycled outfits and show off their skills in the post's first-ever 'recyclable fashion' and talent show Aug. 10. Singers, dancers, cheerleaders and models graced the stage in the two-hour-long show th... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Youth from Fort Jackson school-age centers model recycled outfits and show off their skills in the post's first-ever 'recyclable fashion' and talent show Aug. 10. Singers, dancers, cheerleaders and models graced the stage in the two-hour-long show th... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Youth from Fort Jackson school-age centers model recycled outfits and show off their skills in the post's first-ever 'recyclable fashion' and talent show Aug. 10. Singers, dancers, cheerleaders and models graced the stage in the two-hour-long show th... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

A drive to recycle at Fort Jackson spawned the first "recyclable fashion and talent show."

Elementary students from the post's school-age centers came together Aug. 10 to parade down the runway in recycled outfits and show off their skills.

Singers, dancers, cheerleaders and comedians put themselves in the spotlight for a good cause.

The just-for-fun event was really part of a larger effort to reduce waste on post.

Lisa McKnight, manager of the Department of Public Works Solid Waste program, said Fort Jackson sends up to 700 tons of garbage to the landfill each month. To reduce this amount, Child, Youth & School Services is trying to get kids on board with repurposing household items.

This is in keeping with the motto: reduce, reuse and recycle, McKnight said.

The kids helped craft the outfits modeled for the fashion show out of used, disposable products -- what many would consider garbage.

Grocery bags, old computer keyboards, juice boxes and plastic cups were just a few pieces they sported.

McKnight said the goal of the event was to show kids that recycling "is a fun thing to do."

Shanee Jenkins, trainer at the Hood School Age Center, said the event "might become a yearly thing."

The audience was packed, and enough kids participated to create a two-hour -long show.

The event was far more successful than its predecessor.

A few years ago, McKnight said there was an effort to do a recycling fashion show with adults on base. It didn't pan out.

The 2018 event went smashingly, though.

The kids beamed as they strutted down the aisle. Their paparazzi parents seemed to get a kick out of it too, snapping photos of their celebrities from the sidelines.

Still, the biggest round of applause stemmed from an announcement, not an act. The reveal of an upcoming ice cream party for the participants elicited a thunderous uproar from the kids.