By: Andrea Cojocariu, Online Marketer at Deck Internet Solutions

The inaugural 2012 St. Louis Salvation Army Garbage Bag Gala has passed. July 27, 2012 will always be remembered as St. Louis’ first Garbage Gala. And oh what a gala it was! The goal was to raise awareness for homelessness, but more importantly, raise funds to allow The Salvation Army to continue to help homeless in our area through various programs.  The Salvation Army set a monetary goal of $10,000. They not only reached that goal, but surpassed it by a whopping $9,700! That’s right, in one night, The Salvation Army raised a grand total of $19,700!

It’s not really surprising if you were at the event. Designers created one-of-a-kind outfits, modeled by 17 models at the Moonrise Hotel. It was a Project Runway-isk event with a contest and two prizes.  Models danced, walked, and strutted their designs in the Moonrise Hotel lobby. There was laughing and hollering for their favorite designs (and models). Needless to say, the fashion show itself was rather entertaining.

Photo by: Michael Kilfoy, Studio X

Aaron Perlut, with Elasticity, and his designer, June Grieg, won first place. Aaron sported a trashy Hawaiian shirt and short shorts for his casual outfit, followed by a high-class samurai ensemble (pictured left), clenching him first place. Needless to say, Mr. Perlut was also entertaining, perhaps a crowd favorite.

Jenna Petroff and her oh so young designer, Lexi Koenig, won second place. Jenna wore a flapper inspired blue and purple striped dress for her casual outfit and a beautifully large, black, Southern Belle like formal dress made with chicken wire and trash bags.

The rest of the gala was filled with lots of music, eating, drinking and well…fun! DJ Epic provided music for the fashion show as well as the rest of the evening. Rob Cruse and Dashelle, with Cruse Entertainment, performed three original songs live at the event. The songs were written specifically for The Salvation Army.

Needless to say, this year’s Garbage Bag Gala was a huge success. Everyone had a wonderful time, but more importantly, The Salvation Army raised more funds than they expected allowing them to do the most good and continue to serve homeless in the St. Louis area.

Pictures: University City Patch Garbage Bag Gala or The Salvation Army’s Flickr photo gallery

Video: Courtesy of KSDK

Missed this year’s Garbage Bag Gala? Don’t worry. You can attend next year. The Salvation Army is planning on topping this year’s event.