Rising Pursuit Services hosts fashion show for adults with disabilities

Through fashion and fundraising, Rising Support Services aims to bring the community together for a good cause. Co-founded by Alexis Burrus and Raven Powell, Rising Pursuit Services opened in January 2024 to help bridge a gap in support services offered to adults with disabilities. The organization’s first annual fundraiser, “Rising Couture Fashion Show” will be from 5-7 p.m. on July 20 and aims to showcase their clients’ confidence and creative sides while raising funds for a new bus. “We’re so excited because it’s our first one, but we’re hoping first, and maybe we’re going to make it a tradition,” Burrus said. “We like to do things that they have fun with; they can learn and grow, but they have fun. They enjoy doing it.” Burrus and Powell, both African American women and Lawrence High School graduates, have worked in the field for years — Burrus, in the realm of direct support, residential care and life skills and Powell in applied behavioral analysis therapy and art therapy.  They quickly noticed a gap in services available to those with disabilities and decided to create Rising Pursuit Services, which would provide mental, physical and social health services to adults ages 18 and up...