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Oprah's 'little black dress' becomes fund-raising boon for charities

Dec. 15, 2005

A UMC.org Feature
By Cintia Furtado*

Sandra Carringer believes in miracles. Especially when miracles happen
in the form of a little black dress.

Carringer, member of Apex (N.C.) United Methodist Church, bought a
little black dress belonging to television talk show host Oprah Winfrey
on Oct. 5, 2004. The little black dress became the centerpiece of The
Little Black Dress Charity Ball, which was created to raise awareness
and funds for "The Place of Possibilities," a ministry of All God's
Children United Methodist Church in Aulander, N.C.

After hearing the Rev. Laura Early talk about the work of All God's
Children United Methodist Church and The Place of Possibilities,
Carringer felt led by God to offer help.

A fan of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" for years, Carringer received a phone
call from the show inviting her to a charity auction. In less than a
week, she was flying to Chicago.

When the little black dress went up for auction, Carringer decided to
bid on it because the dress was her size. She had the winning bid of
$3,800.

"All week long I thought about what I was going to do. I truly felt God
speaking to me, 'Don't you get it? You said Laura needed to go to the
'Oprah Show' and the show called you. Do something with this,'"
Carringer said.

On Feb. 11, a charity ball was held, and the dress was auctioned for
$13,000. The stipulation for purchasing the dress was that it must be
re-auctioned in other Little Black Dress Charity Balls to benefit other
institutions. More than 600 people attended the first ball, contributing
a total of $125,000 to The Place of Possibilities.

Kathy Ackerman, who worked on the charity ball committee with Carringer,
ended up buying the dress for $13,000. She never thought she would be
the one to buy the dress, but she and her family pooled their money in
hopes of donating the dress to the Friends of Lathrop House, a charity
her sister was working on in Sylvania, Ohio. The Lathrop House, a stop
on the Underground Railroad, was slated for demolition until the
"Friends" rallied community support and raised more than $200,000 to
save it. They now must earn the additional funds needed for restoration
and educational programming.

The dress is currently with Sue McHugh of Sylvania and will be auctioned
at a charity ball scheduled for March 25.

Carringer said this experience has taught her that with God, all things
are possible.

"We didn't know what we were going to do and we jumped with both feet
and found out everything is possible. We didn't know how much work it
was going to be and how impossible raising $125,000 in one night seemed.
We also found out that when you have a cause, people open their hearts
and their wallets. Everyone was thrilled, and we can't wait to see "The
Place of Possibilities built," Carringer said.

Before meeting Carringer, Early had finished a six-month prayer vigil
for The Place of Possibilities and the ministry of All God's Children
United Methodist Church. When Carringer called her with the proposal for
the charity ball, Early thought about an Oregon woman who had given her
a little black dress three months earlier and told her she was supposed
to wear it to a ball. The pastor said she is amazed at how God took
control of everything.

Early has been the pastor of All God's Children United Methodist Church
for nine years. Throughout her life, she has felt challenged to help the
poor and the needy. She said the church needs to be ever present in the
lives of all who need.

"The church needs to be more about outreach than about enriching," Early
said.

Aulander is small town in Bertie County, in northeastern North Carolina.
More than one in four people live in poverty, nearly double the state
average, and the county's teen pregnancy rate is among the state's
highest.

"This is the most humbling experience for me. If I don't do what God
asks me to, he will find someone who will," Early said.

The vision for The Place of Possibilities is to build a facility to
house the expanded programs and ministries of All God's Children United
Methodist Church. The new facility will provide a place to bring
together people from the community for worship, meals, fellowship, Bible
study, basketball games, day care, dance, gymnastics, martial arts,
tutoring, food and clothing, and activities for senior citizens. The
church's outreach work serves more than 800 people in the community.
Early said they can't do more because they don't have any more room in
the sanctuary. The Place of Possibilities will be in operation seven
days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The current goal for All God's Children United Methodist Church is to
find 250 people to pledge $500 to be paid by December 2006 so that the
first phase of the project can be started. Early hopes they will be able
to raise the necessary funds to pay for the project without borrowing
money.

The Little Black Dress experience was a vivid one for Carringer. She
smiles and is filled with excitement when she thinks about it.

"I have never felt closer to God," Carringer said. "He is right beside
us and uses ordinary people like me to do

*Furtado is communications specialist for the Southeastern Jurisdiction
of the United Methodist Church in Lake Junaluska, N.C.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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