Belle of the ball... on a budget As prom season approaches, students and parents alike are faced with some serious concerns: finding a date, renting a limousine, pre- or post-prom parties and — the most important one for all the young ladies — finding The Dress.
The average nationwide price tag of Prom Night for couples will exceed $1,000, with a quarter of that going toward the dress, according to Women's Wear Daily. The New York Post reported that proms have become a $6 billion industry.
Sound a little steep? There's help available to make the prom all you have ever hoped for but without going into debt, and it comes in the form of two sophomore girls at East Stroudsburg High School South.
Nicole Grimaldi, 16, and Alyssa Warrington, 15, both of East Stroudsburg, run the local chapter of Becca's Closet, a grass roots organization with dozens of chapters in the U.S. The goal of Becca's Closet is to provide girls with free prom dresses, shoes and accessories that will make sure she feels like a princess and not a pauper.
Started in 2003 in Davie, Fla., Becca's Closet was the brainchild of 16-year-old Rebecca Kirtman who saw that there was a need for free or low-cost prom gowns so that every girl who wanted to go to the Big Night would be able to.
Kirtman was able to collect more than 250 gently used gowns that had been worn previously at proms or even as bridesmaids' gowns. Tragically, Kirtman was killed in a car accident later that same year, but her parents and friends continued on in her memory. In the last five years, Becca's Closet has grown by leaps and bounds.
"I was amazed at how many girls that one girl helped," Grimaldi said about Rebecca. She believes that every girl should have the chance to be beautiful on prom night.
This year, Grimaldi and Warrington, along with some friends and supportive family members, will once again be making dresses available for free at the Hampton Inn in Stroudsburg during a two-day event.
Girls are invited to come and browse the selections of dresses — many with original price tags still attached — and accessories from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday and again from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday. The Hampton Inn has provided Becca's Closet with the conference room and two other rooms that are used for trying on the gowns.
Although there is no cost, girls are asked to bring their student ID cards. Names are kept strictly confidential although anyone who would like to take a stroll down the catwalk to model their new gown is encouraged to do so.
Warrington and Grimaldi also want it to be known that you do not have to be only from Monroe County to come and shop. They even cite a special event two years ago when they were able to outfit a couple of international exchange students who wanted to participate in the big night but not pay the hefty price tag to do so.
Grimaldi and Warrington are continuing to collect gowns right up until the big shopping day. They welcome all sizes, styles and colors, but they do ask that you bring the dresses in dry-cleaned as they will only give away ones that have been properly cleaned.
This is a wonderful opportunity to recycle your old prom gown, evening or formal dress or even that bridesmaid's gown that you know you aren't going to wear again. Grimaldi encouraged, "If you're not going to have a use for it, think of someone who can." She also asks that you drop off shoes, purses, tiaras, shawls and other necessary items that will complete the ensemble.
The East Stroudsburg chapter of Becca's Closet was originally founded by Courtney Favini in 2004, who is now a student at Muhlenberg College. Favini passed the leadership role onto Grimaldi and Warrington when she graduated. It is a "passing the torch" tradition that the girls also plan on doing when they head off to college.
Of course, there's the issue of their own proms before that day happens. This spring, the girls will be just two of the estimated 13 million teens who will be attending a prom.
Grimaldi is attending the prom this year with her boyfriend, a senior, and is excited about the theme of "The Red Carpet." Tickets are $80 per person. She will be asking for help in paying for her own gown from mom and dad, though. Besides being a sophomore and running Becca's Closet, Grimaldi is a member of the field hockey team, an actress in some of the school's plays as well as a part-time worker at Marita's Cantina. Warrington juggles her schoolwork and charitable efforts while participating in track and field.
To donate a dress or accessories to Becca's Closet or if you want to pick out your own party frock, contact Grimaldi via e-mail at lyssacoleforbecca@hotmail.com or call (570) 476-2873. You can also check out the organization's national Web site at www.beccascloset.org.
Grimaldi invited all cash-strapped promgoers to come to the Hampton Inn to look at the wares, vintage and modern alike, and pick out your dream dress. However, she knows that she will get just as much out of the event as the shoppers will. She said, "It's the best feeling in the world to know I'm helping someone." |
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