Palisadian Teens to Host ‘A Night of Fashion’ and Fundraising at BOCA

By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor

Palisadians Leena Adeli and Maren Ghaffari are hosting a fundraiser in support of the Dillon Henry Foundation and The Congo Peace School on Thursday, March 23, from 5 to 8 p.m. at BOCA in Pacific Palisades.

Sophomores at Palisades Charter High School, Adeli and Ghaffari shared that they launched the Pali Women in STEM Club last year. Since launching the club and taking on the roles of co-presidents, the friends have launched different fundraising opportunities to support women and empower them to be involved in STEM—an acronym that stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

After Adeli’s mother ran into Palisadian Harriet Zaretsky and BOCA owner Denise Martinez, the girls thought of the idea to partner with the two for their latest fundraising endeavor.

Zaretsky honors her son, Richard Dillon Henry, through the efforts of the foundation. Henry died at the age of 17 in 2007, leaving a wound on the community as he was heavily involved at Pali High, local clubs and sports teams.

“The Dillon Henry Foundation has been created to honor the memory of Dillon Henry,” according to the organization, “a remarkable teenager, who wanted to make the world a better place and planned to do it through great leadership and compassion.”

One project the foundation supports is The Congo Peace School, which provides an education to students of the Democratic Republic of Congo who cannot afford school fees. Adeli and Ghaffari said they were inspired by the Dillon Henry Foundation’s efforts to further support The Congo Peace School’s students, raising money to expose the girls in Congo to STEM and encourage them to explore careers in the field.

“We really loved Dylan’s story,” Ghaffari said to the Palisadian-Post. “We were so inspired by how they took such a tragic event, Dillon’s passing, and created something positive and beautiful out of it … We really wanted to help fundraise because it is just such a beautiful story.”

Ghaffari explained that the funds will also go toward the purchase of female hygiene products for the students of The Congo Peace School.

“Right now in Congo, they have very minimal supplies and very minimal money for the villagers,” Ghaffari said. “This could be some of the first feminine products that some of these students will have ever come in contact with. We, as women and co-founders of Women in STEM, are trying to empower women.”

The “Night of Fashion” fundraiser will be on Thursday, March 23, from 5 to 8 p.m. at BOCA, located on Monument Street. BOCA will donate 20% of the sales made within that window.

Adeli and Ghaffari said they will continue their fundraising efforts throughout the year, and Palisadians can catch them once per month at Ralphs.

Adeli also has a 5K walk and run in the works to raise additional funds for the Dillon Henry Foundation.