Lovely Ladies
Pin-ups group raises funds for veterans
Ladies with clever, evocative names like Miss Bea Haven and Miss Helen Wheels may not have an obvious connection to veterans.
But for local nonprofit group Texas Pin-Ups for Vets, the dozen women involved feel a personal call to help veterans with various fundraisers, including one Saturday at the American Legion Post 488 in New Boston, Texas. Many of them have veterans as family, or they’re vets themselves, after all.
Alisha Barrington, also known as Miss Bunny LeBlanc, founded the group in August 2015, inspired by a national organization of pin-ups serving veterans. Barrington saw the need to support local VA hospitals, clinics and veterans homes in smaller locations.
Saturday’s fundraiser features a poker run with a $10 entry fee per person. Sign up by 9 a.m. with the last bike out by 11 a.m. A bike and auto show gives first and second place trophies with a $5 entry fee. There’s an auction, pool and dart tournament ($5
entry), 50/50 drawing, bake sale and pulled pork sandwiches with a side for $7 a plate.
For the bike and car show, any cars are welcome. The twist this year is that donation buckets will be placed in front of each car. “You vote by donating money,” Barrington said.
In other words, there are many ways to give at this fundraiser, which will benefit the VA hospital in Little Rock, Ark.
“Generally with this money, we try to give it to where they’ll have newer things for their medical facility and things of that nature,” Barrington said. They want vets to have an easier time and make a direct impact on their lives.
Texas Pin-Ups for Vets hold their own events, but also visit others to help with fundraisers. “Just to show up and be something new to them,” Barrington said.
At events they attend while dressed in a retro pin-up style, they pay particular attention to veterans and their families. Says Barrington, “They want recognition, which they should get.” Says fellow Texas Pin-Up Christi Sellers, also known as Miss La La L’amore (whose daughter is Lollipop L’amore), they want to be appreciated.
“We’ll walk around with items for the auction. We’ll get our pictures taken quite a bit with the cars, with people, and just kind of mingle and just have fun throughout the day,” Barrington said.
When Barrington had the idea to form the group, Sellers encouraged her. There’s a particular fondness for that era, and, Sellers points out, women love to play dress-up. They researched the pin-up style.
“Yes, lots of research,” Sellers said. Barrington says she’s a stickler with her girls to get the dress right. And they point out some may have the wrong idea of the pin-up style.
“It’s all clean, fun, you know what I mean?” Sellers said. It’s not meant to be risque. And the style, she points out, holds a special appeal to veterans they help.
“That’s what brought our soldiers comfort at that time,” Sellers said.
The pin-ups have special stage names, such as Miss Rizzo Sapphire and Miss Pebbles Von Tease. Then there’s the flight crew of five men who assist with any parade floats and heavy lifting while the women are in character.
“Each one has their own little character and each one has their backstory and almost all of them have their own Facebook page for their character,” Barrington said of her pinups. Her Miss Bunny LeBlanc hails from New Orleans, for example.
They’ve found a lot of support from the New Boston American Legion, and they’ve also held events in places like Shreveport, La., and Bonham, Texas.
In the future, look for Texas Pin-Ups for Vets to hold a softball tournament with pin-ups wearing “A League of Their Own” uniforms and a guys in drag pin-up pageant. They’re also preparing a calender.
(More info: Check out the Texas Pin Ups page on Facebook. Anyone interested in joining the group is encouraged to contact them.)