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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE BARBARA BATES FOUNDATION
WHEREAS, a self-taught fashion designer, Barbara Bates was born and raised in Chicago and has dressed some of the worlds’ most famous fashionistas, entertainers, celebrity clients, community leaders and influential figures; and
WHEREAS, Barbara Bates also creates fashionable styles for the everyday man and woman; and
WHEREAS, a teen mother herself, Barbara Bates created the Barbara Bates Foundation in 1999 with a purpose to provide prom attire to economically disadvantaged High School Seniors, especially those at alternative schools and teen moms; and
WHEREAS, to date, more than 500 custom dresses and 200 suits have been gifted to high school students; and
WHEREAS, after a breast cancer diagnosis in 2009, Barbara Bates used her fashion talent to host a fashion show in which all fifty models were breast cancer survivors, raising $50,000 for Mount Sinai Health Systems; and
WHEREAS, the Barbara Bates Designs studio and showroom is located in Chicago’s South Loop; and
WHEREAS, through the fashion show of survivors and the annual 5k walk in Douglas Park, the Barbara Bates Foundation raised $500,000 within a four-year period for a breast imaging center; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the residents of Cook County, honor the Barbara Bates Foundation and praise its essential contribution to the health and viability of Cook County. end