by Davy James, Staff Writer
Thanks to the efforts and generosity of countless individuals throughout the county, obtaining a prom dress will be as easy as trying one on.
Through a project called Hope’s Chest, about 500 prom dresses were donated over the past few months to St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Monmouth Junction to be given away to high school students in need.
”We were expecting about 125 dresses and that would’ve been fine,” said project coordinator Wanda Garrin. “But this surpassed all expectations.”
The dresses will be given out at St. Barnabas Church on April 18 and April 25 from 10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. until inventory runs out. Girls must be in 11th or 12th grade and must present a valid high school ID. Dresses are available from sizes zero to 24.
”These are incredible dresses that have been dry cleaned and are almost new,” Ms. Garrin said. “We really want the girls to come and get a dress and enjoy it without worrying about money or affording it.”
Ms. Garrin said that a large number of area churches and volunteers have made the giveaway possible, with a number of people donating their time to help sort the dresses. She said one individual collected 144 dresses to donate.
”Everybody kind of made this project their own,” Ms. Garrin said. “It’s nice to see such a group effort.”
With all of the dresses now available to be given away, the only concern now is finding students to give them to.
”We don’t want any girls to be embarrassed to come out and get a dress,” Ms. Garrin said. “There will only be adults there and it will be personal and confidential. They don’t need to feel embarrassed at all. They can come out and try on as many dresses as they like, feel comfortable and leave with a nice dress.”
Ms. Garrin said any leftover dresses would be donated to similar organizations to be given away or put into storage to be given away next year.
For more information contact Ms. Garrin at [email protected]. St. Barnabas Church is located at 142 Sand Hill Road in Monmouth Junction.
