Youth organization hosts fashion and talent showcase for non-profits to compete for funds

Learn Earn, Earn Learn (L.E.E.L.) will host its Fashion & Talent Showcase: Non-Profits Compete! Fundraiser on Sunday, January 18, 2026 from 2-5 PM at Burke High School (244 President Street, Charleston, SC 29403). Youth, youth leaders, families, entrepreneurs, business professionals, non-profit founders and owners, educators, and other community members are invited to attend.

This event will feature a fashion and talent competition between non-profit organizations. Competitors must present a 5 to 15-minute fashion and talent segment that will help the audience understand their non-profit organizations’ mission. The winning organization will receive a $1,000 prize.

The event will also include entrepreneurial (non-profit) speakers, business and non-profit vendors, food vendors, a photo booth, giveaways, and music. Those interested in attending the event can register with a $5 donation for children ages 6 to 17 and $10 donation for adults ages 18 and up at bit.ly/ECYJanuary2026. Non-profit organization staff can also register for $25, and additional donations can be made on the website. EC Youth/L.E.E.L.’s Founder Pleshette Grant stated that “in the past, the event showcased youth talent, but this year we are using this fun, family-friendly event as an opportunity to educate families and communities about the resources various non-profits provide.”

Learn Earn, Earn Learn (L.E.E.L.) Initiative is the non-profit organization connected to EC Youth that allows youth participants to earn scholarships and stipends made possible through sponsors and grants for attending school, meeting with their mentors and tutors, volunteering, and working on their portfolio for planning for their future.

Donation proceeds will go toward EC Youth programs and scholarships. L.E.E.L. Initiative participants can register for EC Youth scholarships at the event. Sponsors and vendors are being accepted with registration on the event website.

Entrepreneur Centers 4 Youth (EC Youth) was established to expose youth ages 17 and younger to entrepreneurship. Its mission is building youth entrepreneurs and entrepreneur centers, too. Each youth is his own center. EC Youth’s ultimate goal is educating youth about financial literacy. Youth are taught the tools of entrepreneurship, which are education, volunteering, mentoring, tutoring, apprenticeships, vending, scholarships, and more, and how to use them. EC Youth hosts entrepreneurial and financial literacy events with speakers who educate attendees on starting a business, strategic planning, law, marketing, accounting, banking, money management, politics, and other business sectors. The EC Youth theme is Education + Entrepreneurship = Dreams Come True.

For more information about the event, L.E.E.L., or EC Youth, contact Pleshette Grant at (843) 640-0467 or [email protected], or visit the EC Youth Facebook page.