BEVERLY — When Nick Shultz was a kid going off to summer camp, his mother always wrote him letters.
"At the bottom, she would always say, 'Cling to Jesus,'" Shultz said.
And therein lies the inspiration for his organization, Cling, which the Gordon College student started soon after his mother died in 2006.
This month, he and his fiancĂ©e, Ashley Huron — who just happens to be Miss Massachusetts International — achieved nonprofit status for Cling, and they are hosting a fashion show in Boston to raise money for children in developing nations.
"We're talking with some people in India about donating land to build a children's hospital and orphanage," he said.
Shultz's mother encouraged her kids to be socially conscious and caring about those less fortunate, he said
"One hundred dollars for us will take us out to eat, but for them, it can drastically change their circumstances," he said.
Shultz also made connections through Gordon College.
"Gordon has been really good at fostering the development of this nonprofit," Shultz said. He established Cling as his internship project and is finishing up a business plan for the hospital and orphanage as his final two credits before receiving a diploma. As his senior thesis, he also staged a fashion show in February, which was the inspiration for the one coming up next week.
On Saturday, July 18, at District Restaurant and Lounge in Boston, the night will feature models, entertainment and dancing, and act as a send-off party for Huron, Miss Teen Massachusetts and Miss New Hampshire International, before they head to the national competition in Chicago the next day.
Eventually, Shultz hopes to run Cling full time, but for now he's looking to do it on the side and do development work at another nonprofit to gain experience.
He'd also like to make it to India sometime soon. It helps that his sister and brother-in-law, who met on a service trip to India, plan on moving there.
"I'd love to go," he said. "Especially if this children's hospital starts to take off."
For more information about Cling or the July 18 fundraiser, visit clingtojesus.org.
Staff writer Cate Lecuyer can be reached at clecuyer@salemnews.com.
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