Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Stover.
Jessica, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hello, I’m Jessica Stover. I’m a charity cosplayer under the business handle of Dayton’s Damsel In Disguise. I have been cosplaying for about 20 years. About 9 years ago, I started working with other local cosplayers, who would show up to charity fundraisers to help raise money or just be there for families that were struggling. I started to really love doing all the different charity drives, fundraisers, children’s hospital visits, etc. Around 2019, I started working directly with small local comic book conventions to set up my own personal charity cosplay booth. Took a break during 2020, and resumed in 2021.
I do free photo shoots for the guests, free coloring pages for kids, and free candy in hopes that guests will donate money to whatever charity that I feature during each event and convention. I never take any of the donations for personal use or pay. Every cent that is donated goes to the charity or organization for each event. I usually try to raise money for 1 different charity, homeless/animal shelter, food pantry, and other organizations at each event. I try to keep them local in the widespread area of Dayton, Ohio. My main goal is to help as many people within the Dayton area and surrounding areas as possible. I also want to spread more love into this world and not hate.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For the most part, the charity cosplay work I’ve done in the past has been very easygoing. I do free volunteer work in cosplay mostly, so I get to choose what events or fundraisers I want to participate in helping. However, when it comes to some events, can be heart-wrenching. For example, in 2017, I was asked to attend a little 7-year-old boy’s funeral to be a pallbearer in superhero cosplay.
That was so emotional, and I will never forget that. Another example of struggling with charity cosplay work was going to the children’s hospital visits. Seeing some of the young kids, especially in the cancer ward, knowing that this would probably be the only time that they would see their favorite characters was very hard sometimes. I would always try to make it as memorable for them as possible, stay in character, and keep a smile on my face every time.
Examples like these are one of the biggest emotional obstacles in charity cosplay work.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in charity cosplay work. I’m known for raising money for different charity drives in cosplay and helping out the local communities in the Dayton area.
I’m proud of knowing that the time, effort, and energy that goes into what I do helps all people who could really need it the most, no matter who they are. What sets me apart is that I have a plethora of cosplay outfits and sometimes people that have known me at other events don’t recognize me because I transform myself into the character cosplay completely.
We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is helping your community grow and flourish and adding your own personal light to brighten someone’s life, and hopefully, they will do the same for the next person.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @daytons_damsel_in_disguise
- Facebook: Facebook.com/daytonsdamsel/
- Tiktok: @daytonsdamsel
Image Credits
Epilepsy Foundation, Cincinnati Comic Expo, and Underground Video Network Tk Cosplay
