Organization collects donated dresses to ease prom costs
They looked like remnants from the Academy Awards.
Gowns made of lace, satin, iridescent fabric and velour were wrapped in plastic, stuffed in boxes and clinging to hangers. Boxes of formal shoes, jewelry and other accessories were piled nearby.
"I wore this in college and didn't want to let go of it," said 23 year old Ashley Flatt, picking up a simple black evening gown atop a pile of donated prom dresses.
"But when am I ever going to wear this? Some girl could use this and have a great night that she otherwise might not be able to have."
Flatt's old formal gowns, it turned out, would be somebody else's ticket to the prom. Several months ago the University of Nevada, Las Vegas senior gathered her assortment of prom dresses and went online to see what she could do with them. She came across a Reno based program called Aly's Prom Closet a nonprofit effort with a Cinderella twist.
The program sends teens from low income families
pandora jewelry clearance and foster families to the prom by giving them donated new and used dresses, tuxedos and other services. It was named after Aly Christiansen, a Reno native killed
pandora charms outlet in a Las Vegas car crash in December 2001 while attending UNLV.
Wanting to help Las Vegas teens, Flatt and her mom, Leigh Aurbach, contacted Aly's Prom Closet to see if they could open a branch of the program in Las Vegas. More than 300 donated dresses later, the Las Vegas Aly's Prom Closet has opened its doors.
"Aly had a connection to Las Vegas so they were thrilled someone would carry
pandora 2016 the torch down here," Aurbach said.
Local guidance counselors participating in the program were also thrilled.
"A lot of the kids, they don't feel they can ask for $200 to go buy a dress when Mom can't buy shoes for the younger boy or put food in the refrigerator," said Kim Perry Carter, head guidance counselor for Desert Pines high school.
"And this is something they look forward to when they enter high school. It's their last event as seniors to get together and have that last party before graduation. Everybody's trying to look their best and it gets expensive."
To promote the effort, posters and pamphlets have been distributed at
pandora rings canada participating high schools. Students have the option of approaching their counselor for a referral or calling Aly's Prom Closet directly.
Qualifying teens will receive a free dress from its retail space in Commercial Center. Shoes and jewelry have also been donated.
Sending teens to prom
More than 20 businesses, organizations and school groups are working on the effort. The retail space was donated. Mission Industries provided racks to hold the dresses and local dry cleaners are cleaning the dresses.
Organizers aren't sure how many students will participate. Whatever is leftover this year will be used in next year's effort.
"We got a late start," Aurbach said. "Hopefully next year it will be more well known, and we'll get tuxes, and other stuff that girls need."
The first Las Vegas dress drive, held by UNLV's Delta Chi fraternity and sororities that included some of Aly Christiansen's friends, brought in 300 dresses, some still with their tags on.
"Everybody realizes what a good concept this is," said 22 year old Nick
pandora 2016 Christiansen,
pandora charms on sale Aly's older brother and member of Delta Chi who organized the drive after hearing the prom closet was going to open in Las Vegas.
"Sometimes you just don't think about it. You think everybody gets to go to prom. It's kind of put out there that it's the best night that you're supposed to have before college."
But local counselors say many teens are left behind. In addition to low income families, there are homeless students attending schools in the Clark County School District.
"It's no secret," Kristin Conser, a guidance counselor at Rancho high school, said. "You have a lot of low income, at risk kids in Las Vegas who don't have the money to go to prom. When I heard about Aly's Prom Closet I was very anxious to have it here at Rancho."
Last year some high schools developed their own prom dress programs where homecoming dresses were donated for students to use or seniors donated gowns that could be rented for a small fee.
"But it's a real hard thing," Conser said. "You're in high school. You don't want to tell all your friends that you borrowed some dress for prom."
The idea with Aly's Prom Closet is that nobody has to know.
A simple idea
Stuart Gordon, executive director for Family Counseling Service in Reno, began the Reno program after hearing from foster parents who wanted to send their foster children to prom but couldn't because they didn't have the money.
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