INTERVIEW WITH VOYAGE LA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gayle Fleury.

Hi Gayle, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Unable to carry a child to term, going through 19 years of infertility, and knowing I wasn’t alone on this journey, I started Angel Gowns of South Bay with three friends and one wedding dress. Eight year later, we have grown quite a bit. With about 30 volunteers, we take donated wedding dresses and create heirloom quality baby gown for little angels who get their wing too soon. We serve 22 hospitals throughout California and 6 hospice services. We make between 1500 and 2000 baby gowns each year, for boys and for girls, in 4 sizes plus wraps for those babies not fully formed but deserving love and respect. We also make bright, cheerful “Scrubbies” for children on hospice service. These garments are French seamed so no rough edges to catch on delicate skin, and with plastic snaps at shoulders and side for easy access during procedures. And plastic snaps won’t set off an MRI. But wait- there’s more! We also provide classes for parents on Safe Sleeping For Infants, CPR and Stop The Bleed courses as well. We raise funds to give parents who can’t afford to bury or cremate their child a small grant, which is sent to the funeral home of their choice in their name. During Covid, we were donated 2 truckloads of brand new wedding dresses, till in plastic with price tags. We give them away to brides who can’t afford a beautiful dress on their special day. We have two more programs in development that benefit women and children

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The start of Angel Gowns was slow going. It’s a subject that people don’t want to think about. They want to donate to something that has a happy ending. Ladies were afraid to volunteer because they feared their time with us would be sad. However, what people have found id that we make this an upbeat event, every 3rd Saturday of the month. We have a light breakfast and then have lunch together before we clean up from creating the gowns and Scrubbies. We share stories, sometimes play a game, and brainstorm ways we can do a better job of reaching parents and hospitals. We inspect all of the garments we have made to see if any need more “love”. Our view is that if the gown is the last thing a mother sees her baby in, it should be perfect in every way. We find interesting ways to raise funds, and we show our volunteers appreciation by having celebrations several times each year.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
With a Fine Arts degree in Theatre from SMU, I have spent more than 30 years directing children’s theatre, church productions and running Drama and Art Camps each summer. I wrote the scripts and set the music for each production, created the costumes and helped the students make their props and scenery. My focus was on developing leadership skills, group decision making and team building. I was also the president of Art To Grow On, a parent powered art program in the San Pedro schools. I worked for the Cultural Affairs Department, City of LA teaching dance, voice and acting, plus co-directing productions at the Warner Grand Theatre. My Short Attention Span Theatre was student powered, going into schools with historical programs based on American History. Every program fir into a class period, hence the name Short Attention Span Theatre.

With my husband, Dr. Bill Fleury, we have produced 21 years of Christian Music Festivals at Point Fermin in San Pedro, drawing large crowds-, and bringing in well known artists like Christafari, The Katinas, and Kutless as well as local up and coming groups.

I have served for 8 terms on the Wilmington Neighborhood Council as co-chair. This was the first certified neighborhood council in Los Angeles and is well known for being the “poster child” for how theses councils are supposed to be run. We are proud of our ability to work with the Ports of LA and Long Beach, the LA City Council, and our local elected officials.

Angel Gowns is unique in that it continues to grow in unexpected directions. We are currently developing 2 programs. The first is for women coming out of prison into a group living parole environment. With a ratio of one teach to two students, we are teaching sewing from how to clean and work with your machine to making patterns and creating garments from2nd hand sources. The program includes section on compassion and conscience.. The second project is to break the bullying cycle in school so that the chain of bullying is broken addressing the issues that cause kids to bully, working with them, helping and mentoring those who have been the target of bullying, working with parents, PTA’s and school staff. It is also designed to work with community groups, youth associations and churches.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Starting any of these projects was a huge leap of faith. It’s like jumping off a cliff and asking your friend to jump with you. It’s spending hours and days and months and even years getting everything running and making sure to promote the project in the community. Don’t be afraid. If you live in fear, you really aren’t living. Failure? People telling you “NO”, and that this will never fly? That’s just an opening to exercise your wings and fins another way to approach your goal. Ask everyone you know to poke as many holes as they can into your idea. Then evaluate them for their validity and start figuring out how to fix those problems. Better to get them worked out now, at the beginning because you will have other issues arise as you grow. Dealing with people isn’t always easy.. Personalities and power struggles happen. Stand firm in what you believe in, be willing to accept criticism, fins work arounds, and what your expectations are. Make lists and plan everything you possibly can because the unexpected WILL happen. Your tribe will find you. Just understand that the group/volunteers will be a changing landscape as the project grows. Nonprofit groups have a high turnover of people. This is GOOD because it keeps things fresh and new ideas flowing. You can do this! You are ENOUGH!!!

Pricing:

Baby Gownss- FREE

Scrubbies- FREE

New Wedding Gowns- FREE,, but we suggest a donation

Parent Classess- FREE

Contact Info:

Website: https://www.angelgownsofsouthbay.org

Instagram: Angel Gowns of South Bay

Facebook: Angel Gowns of South Bay Group

Youtube: Angel Gowns of South Bay- YouTube

Other: Gayle Fleury (@angelgownsofsouthbay)