Spreading the legacy of Maddie and Kaylee
Ashlin Couch and Kaitlyn Widmyer prepare for the sold-out Make it Pink Gala on Thursday afternoon. The event Saturday raised money for the Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves Memorial Scholarship Fund. Couch had a close relationship with Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves before they were killed during the 2022 murders in Moscow.
CAROLYN BOSTICK/Press
Kaitlyn Widmyer of Marmalade Fresh Clothing poses outside the store. Widmyer is an executive producer at CDA Fashion Week and hired Maddie Mogen at her family's business, Marmalade Fresh Clothing in Coeur d'Alene. Mogen was a University of Idaho student who was slain in the 2022 Moscow killings.
COEUR d’ALENE — As the last touches to the Make it Pink Gala fell into place, Ashlin Couch stopped by the Marmalade Fresh Clothing on Thursday where her friend, Maddie Mogen, used to work.
Couch co-founded the Made With Kindness Foundation with her mother, Angela Navejas to fund memorial scholarships honoring Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, who were slain in the 2022 killings in Moscow.
The emotions ahead of the big day were a bit too much, and Couch deferred to Kaitlyn Widmyer to share memories of Mogen. Widmyer helps run Marmalade and worked with Mogen at the boutique.
“There are a lot of young women and people who loved those girls, and they were born and raised here,” Widmyer said.
Widmyer believes that for the people who are still hurting, events like Make it Pink can help them grieve while giving back to the community in a way that memorializes their kind spirits.
“They’re here to spread the legacy of Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves and really just start that force of healing for this community after the Idaho four tragedy,” Widmyer said.
The Coeur d’Alene boutique outfitted the mothers of Mogen and Goncalves and the co-founders of the Made With Kindness Foundation to help them “dress with meaning” at a place where Mogen used to work.
Mogen was hired by Widmyer in shop in 2021 and the two also modeled together. She was a hard worker, Widmyer said.
“She was so focused and so amazing at everything she did,” Widmyer said.
To learn more about the Made with Kindness Foundation, visit their Facebook page or madewithkindnessfoundation.com.
Kaitlyn Widmyer of Marmalade Fresh Clothing poses outside the store. Widmyer is an executive producer at CDA Fashion Week and worked with Maddie Mogan at the shop. Mogan was a University of Idaho student who was slain in the 2022 Moscow killings.