Etsy

Fashionlanthropist, Sahar Pazirandeh (formerly Parirokh), has spent the last few years in a fashion incubator with Brooklyn high school students. Her credit-earning fashion programs allow participants between the ages of 14 and 20 to experience positions relevant to the fashion industry.

Graduating with honors from LIM College, Sahar focused every paper and project with Freedom Star in mind. She knew she wanted to use fashion as vehicle to educate teens and create a community amongst her peers; her education at LIM and her experiences surviving an economic meltdown molded Freedom Star into what it is today. This vision was evident in all of her actions from very early on, taking on a mentorship roll through tutoring, teaching dance, and starting a babysitting company at the age of 13.

Often refereed to as her "bait," Sahar utilizes her accessories line (Freedom Star Accessories) and the fashion industry to teach urban youth business fundamentals. She works closely with teachers, counselors and even principals to customize her program's curriculum per the students needs. To-date more than a dozen students have earned over 60 credits through work they have completed with Freedom Star Mentorship.

From this experience Free Your Star Foundation was born. Sahar has a passion for exposing urban youth to various career possibilities and being a resource for women interested in fashion, photography, film and magazine industries. The future goal of the Foundation is to offer short-term housing offering those outside of New York a starting point.

When Sahar is not giving back to the community through fashion, she writes grants and consults other startup non-profits via program development and fundraising. Her experiences include supporting a new public high school in Brooklyn by partnering with Pulitzer Award winning author, Junot Diaz, as well as raising Alzheimer’s awareness through dance for Rhythm Break Cares with Dancing With The Stars’ Edyta Sliwinska and So You Think You Can Dance, Iveta Lukosiute.

“The only thing we owe ourselves is to self-actualize, when your work fuels your soul you are more complete as a person, then you have more to give back to your community. I wish this for every person I come in contact with, and hope to be able to help them or connect them with someone to make their journey more fruitful.” Sahar Pazirandeh

e-mail: sahar [!at] freedomstaronline.com