Prom It Forward: Church Offers Free, Fancy Looks For Future Cinderellas
PLANO (CBSDFW.COM) - Tuesday marks the start of the St. Andrew United Methodist Church Prom Closet in Plano. Thousands of girls will fill the aisles with a single mission - searching for "the one" - that is, the perfect prom dress.
The idea of the 12th annual St. Andrew Prom Closet is to make sure the price tag doesn't sideline any Cinderellas. Instead, they pick the dress, shoes, and accessories free of charge.
"After they finally find that Cinderella dress, going and getting shoes. jewelry, handbags, the whole thing. It's just, they just glow," said Nancy Kenney of The St. Andrew United Methodist Women. "The look on their faces, just cherub."
Sophomore Maura McKenna knew she had found her prom dress the moment she looked in the mirror. "It sounds cliche, but it's like a princess. It's so pouffy, and it makes you feel pretty," she said. "Dresses can be very expensive, and sometimes it's difficult for everybody to get money and stuff to do it, so this is really nice."
A lot of prom students, they wear it once and it's never worn again," said mother Ashley Kees. "They end up in the landfill, so being able to do this for the community, for the environment, for all these kids, that's a wonderful thing they're doing."
The dresses - more than 3,500 of them this year - are donated by churches and community members, businesses and organizations. And they are available to anyone from anywhere.
"There's so many different styles and colors, there's literally something for everybody," McKenna said.
The Prom Closet goes Tuesday through Thursday from 4-8 p.m. and Saturday from 9-11 a.m. Friday is open exclusively to girls with special needs.
