Vonda Parker sees that creative arts can be a vehicle for driving youth development forward.
Through the nonprofit VMax for One Community Inc., which she co-founded with her husband, Max, Vonda works to reach Lake County youth with the Art of Fashion Creative Arts Program.
During the Sept. 29 orientation for the 2026-27 Art of Fashion program at the Leesburg Resource Center, Vonda and Max outlined the program and introduced the coaches who will to teach students about fashion, theater, public speaking and event production.
Classes began this week.
The goal of the program is to get young people to be creative, explore new skills and build confidence with the reassurance of a supportive community, Vonda said.
“We treat you like you’re our own grandchildren,” she told the students. “When we see something in you, we like to nurture it.”
Her husband echoed the sentiment.
“As long as VMax is around, we will push you, and as long as I’m alive, I’m here for you,” said Max, a retired Leesburg Police Department deputy chief of police.
VMax for One Community Inc. began in 2017 to bring amateur boxing tournaments to the area in partnership with the West Leesburg Community Development Corporation, a nod to Max’s career as a professional world-class boxing referee and inductee into the Florida State Boxing Hall of Fame.
But, Vonda said, her passion for creative arts convinced him to think about how the art of fashion could play a major role in youth development.
In its ninth year, the nine-month program provides education and real-world experience in fashion runway techniques, visual retail merchandising, fashion design and sketching, character acting, theater arts, etiquette and public speaking, media and event productions and wearable art.
The nonprofit added theater arts and etiquette as new courses this year as another way to make each student a better person, Max said.
The nonprofit partners with Lake Square Mall and Belk in Leesburg to host visual retail merchandising classes in the department store.
Tim Altadonna, a Belk employee and lover of fashion, will return for a second year as the course coach.
“There will be a lot of color matching,” he said. “They will learn how to set up a store front and work with mannequins. We use the term ‘visual impact’ a lot and it’s not just something that you use at a store front. It’s about how they carry themselves throughout life with a visual impact. From the runway to a job interview, you want a positive visual impact.”
Robin Reynolds, Lake Square Mall events and marketing coordinator, said her three grandchildren, which she shares with the Parkers, graduated from the program.
She said it’s been a pleasure to work with the program over the years and encouraged the students to fully immerse themselves in the process.
“I encourage you to keep the bonds you build, because that’s what community is about,” Reynolds said. “The mall is here for you outside of this process.”
Other coaches who explained their intention to students and parents included Zelda Polk, teaching media and event productions and the mastery level program; Shay “Runway Diva” Davis, teaching runway and fashion; Adina Kajoy, teaching the etiquette and public speaking class; and Jessica Guiffre, teaching theater arts and character and acting classes.
Program levels move from beginner to intermediate, advanced and mastery and students graduate to the next level at the end of the nine months. This year the organization created a new level with the VMax Ambassador, which takes four years to reach.
“Everything is about all of us helping raise these young people,” Vonda said. “We decided to add ambassadors because we know these students can be mentors for the younger students since they have been there. We put these steps in place so we can stop to see the growth and development.”
Taking students beyond the classroom, VMax students show off their skills to the public with traveling showcases, community events and special appearances.
Locally the organization has hosted shows at the Lake Square Mall, as well as for the annual Leesburg Martin Luther King Jr. parade and the Leesburg Christmas parade.
In 2025, students designed their own costumes and put on a fashion show for patients at the Orlando Health Children’s Arnold Palmer Hospital.
Last month, students took their talents to Miami for the Threads and Crown: A Legacy Tribute traveling showcase. Students also have performed in North Carolina, New Orleans and Daytona Beach.
“We take the students to different cities and states because we want them to learn from different cultures,” Vonda said. “On the last day of the trip, the students give a two-minute presentation before they receive their diploma from the nine-month program.”
Since the program began, five students have graduated from the Art of Fashion program, three the first year and two last year. But just because a student graduated doesn’t mean it’s the end, Vonda said.
Last year, the nonprofit began a new partnership with Alexa Model and Talent Management in Tampa.
“Students immediately go into that program at no cost to them after the mastery program,” she said. “Throughout the partnership they get to model with professional models in shows and wear couture designs. Our other students that haven’t fully graduating yet travel with us and open the show.”
Braniyah Sweeney, a senior at Leesburg High School, first joined the VMax program when she was in the eighth grade and said she is excited to return for another year.
After graduating the mastery program last year and becoming a VMax ambassador, Sweeney said she hopes to pursue fashion at Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia after graduation.
“I feel like the program has made me more confident,” she said. “I learned how to express myself without worrying about what others might say. Also the program is just a big family. I gained a lot of bonus parents.”
Denise Kinsey, who brought her granddaughter, Robyn Kinsey, to orientation to learn more about the nonprofit, said she was intrigued by what she learned.
“I really like how the program looks at the whole person,” Denise said. “(Students) are more than Leesburg and Lake County. It’s a big world and with all the support and preparation, (they’ve) got it.”
Community members who are interested in volunteering or becoming coaches for the Art of Fashion program may call 352-254-0281.
For more information about the program or VMax for One Community Inc., visit vmaxforone.com.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
