Let’s be honest: when we think of the city of Miami, we think Lebron James, Spring Breakers and The Real Housewives (okay, maybe that last one is just me, but you get the point). In the minds of many, Miami is a hub of non-stop bikini strutting, international DJ hosting, champagne-pouring celebrity scenesters. It’s a layover and a destination all in one, but beyond the glitz and glam of LIV nightclub and lines of worth-more-than-your-college-tuition convertibles, you can find that Miami truly has a heart of gold.

Meet a group of nine Miami hotshots that are worth tipping your Borsalino fedora to: they are the board of Style Saves, a nonprofit charitable organization spearheaded and founded by celebrity stylist Rachael Russell. This fierce group of Miami cool kids have pulled together the creative artist community through personal networks and the signature Miami social scene to amass what is one uniquely stylish philanthropic organization.

"Remember how exciting and important the the first day of school was, getting new outfits and going back-to-school shopping? A lot of students aren't allotted the same opportunity," Russell explains. So what is it exactly that Style Saves does? "We’re building confidence through clothes," she affirms.

“I look at Style Saves as a modern day Cinderella scenario, where every child has the chance to leave an impression on their Prince or Princess Charming and act how they always wanted to act if they had the confidence to do so,” says Matthew Dugow, director of Social Media for Style Saves. “Except unlike in Cinderella the kids in our story get to keep their outfits forever without the fear of their chariot turning into a pumpkin.”

The main fundraiser is an annual swimwear fashion show that is held at the Miami Soho House during Miami Swim Week. They raise contributions through ticket sales and sponsorships.

This year the event will take place on July 19th. The board focuses on continually spreading awareness by supplementing the evening’s festivities with a series of fashion- and health-focused mini-events hosted throughout the year and is coupled with an online silent auction offering prizes from week-long retreats in Thailand to 5-course tasting menus at high-end Miami eateries.

We see it from start to finish, from that very first fashion show meeting we had at Soho House to being back stage the night of, it’s very cool to be that involved

-Caro

This is a project that has garnered the support of many likeminded 20-somethings and Miami newcomer and board member Deanna Clevesy is no exception. “It allows me to utilize my love of fashion and philanthropy for the betterment of an organization that was already making an amazing impact.” Her duties are to oversee the organization’s Outreach Program; she is one of the nine creatives that Russell so affectionately refers to as, “the crew.”

Russell has experienced a life unlike most 25 year olds: Between her fully blossomed career as a fashion stylist at Ford Models and her unpretentiously fabulous personal life, her travels have taken her from Milan to study fashion to NYC styling celebrities including Lindsay Lohan and Kathy Lee Gifford, and in between she manages to find time to contribute to Miami based Haute Living Magazine. Oh yeah, she also started a boutique bracelet line, Kemana, that is based on the participation of local women in Indonesia.

Translating career into charity isn’t typically the natural progression for most young professionals, but then again Russell isn’t just any young professional. Before she was sweet-talking Soho House and Neiman Marcus for Style Saves, she was hosting personal soirées where she would have a BYOCG policy (Bring Your Own Canned Goods), which she would cheerfully tote to a women’s shelter the next day.

Quickly outgrowing the backyard bashes and canned good drop-offs, she took to a much larger project that, as a 23 year old, would seem quite daunting, but her larger-than-life personality and vast personal network carried the very first event to a $20,000 success.

But she is humble; she credits the success of Style Saves to the camaraderie of her social network and the support of her faithful sponsors. "It's cool that everyone wants to help out," she gushes, continuing to explain that this is an organization that is fueled by volunteers and that 100% of the proceeds are put towards helping clothe, accessorize and instill confidence into these deserving children.

Stephanie Caro, Interactive Director, elaborates, “Rachael saw it in her clients, the confidence people exude when they are well-styled and know that they look good. When you look good, you automatically feel good.”

The project is so hands-on that the words basically spill out of Caro’s mouth with a slight giddiness. “We see it from start to finish, from that very first fashion show meeting we had at Soho House to being backstage the night of. It’s very cool to be that involved”.

Considering the board and their target audience are all members of Miami’s creative industry, Russell believes that Style Saves is a cause they can all relate to. This a group of stylish philanthropists that understand that this unique approach to developing successful and confident young children is crucial to the environment they too are a product of. “Our social activities strongly influence our supporters because we're all active members in Miami,” board secretary Jeffrey Echeverri says. “Since we're all social and active in our community, we're able to involve many similar counterparts that would normally probably not involve themselves with charity or an organization. We're able to have our friends and peers want to work with students and help us raise funds for our charity.”

Unlike in Cinderella the kids in our story get to keep their outfits forever without the fear of their chariot turning into a pumpkin.

-Dugow

So how is it that Miami’s “it” crowd have traded in their free time of hanging at Jugofresh on 20th post-spin class or poolside at the Standard for board meetings and photoshoots with groups of grade schoolers? The board seems to be on the same page; Caro simply and frankly affirms the end result is worth all the hard work. “It’s a really fun event for a really great cause.”

And what does Style Saves Founder think of her ferociously well-connected, well-dressed social mavericks? “This is a charity where the cause hits a little close to home, and I couldn’t do it without the support of the crew.” The success of the entire event is based on what Dugow would describe as “having the right crowd at the perfect time in the ideal location. Miami lives and dies by this.”

No fairy-tale would be complete without a storybook ending. The work doesn’t end once the last model struts down the runway at Soho House, no. Instead the workload is then only half-done.

The back-to-school event is almost more important than the fashion show itself. Once the funds have come in, Russell gathers a team of fashionistas to take to the streets (and malls) to style unique outfits for each student in their program. From the perfect pink Hello Kitty headband to the Miami Heat jersey, each child receives a personally selected wardrobe based on a questionnaire they’ve filled out.

The back-to-school event, which is described as a sort of "field day", is where the students of Style Saves receive their clothing and school supplies. And because Fairy Godmother Russell wouldn’t simply deliver the clothing and be on her way, the delivery is based around a full day packed with fun activities from face-painting to yoga to a petting-zoo and so much more.

It’s no wonder that these specific nine cool kids all join together to make magic happen. Echeverri eloquently sums it up: “We're able to give these students a chance to succeed and inspire them to be at their full-potential and that is an incomparable feeling.” There is a special dynamic about this philanthropic organization as seen by the balance of inner and outer beauty (and we’re talking statuesque sunkissed Miami natives here), the lineage of their social connections and their possibilities-are-endless attitude.

Let’s just say, they know how to rock Tom Ford and a 501(c)(3). Who ever said giving back couldn’t be so stylish?

Photos courtesy of: Seth Browarnik/WorldRedEye.com