Donations take financial stress out of prom season

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  • Friends & Formals is taking donations of dresses and tuxedos or suits to provide for prom season to students in need of formal attire, like this available blue dress in size 11/12. Courtesy
    Friends & Formals is taking donations of dresses and tuxedos or suits to provide for prom season to students in need of formal attire, like this available blue dress in size 11/12. Courtesy
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Formal attire to be offered to students in need

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Friends & Formals is taking donations of dresses and tuxedos or suits to provide for prom season to students in need of formal attire, like this available blue dress in size 11/12.

Spring isn't far away, and that means that prom season is almost here.

Communities in Schools, a student support organization that began providing services to Sulphur Springs ISD students this school year, has teamed up with Friends & Formals to host a "Cinderella's Closet" event on March 28. Three years ago, Jamie Young's daughter was was in eighth grade. Young realized a dream event for the participants could easily become a nightmare for their family.

"There was a huge financial expectation in planning for 8th Grade Banquet," Young said. "My daughter had many friends who couldn't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on a dress and many parents who simply didn't want to bear that burden, myself included. So we did a little investigative work and discovered that the middle school only had a handful of dresses in very limited sizes available for girls to borrow."

After talking to some friends and spreading the word on Facebook, Young ended up borrowing dresses for her daughter and a couple of her friends. In 2019, Young established the Friends & Formals Facebook page to share the story and begin seeking donations to create a closet of available dresses. The Young family has helped a few girls find dresses to borrow, literally loaning them out of a closet at their home.

"Our schools host these beautiful, fun events, but participation often comes with a large price tag. In order for everyone to have the option to participate in these formal events, we need to provide low-cost or free dresses for our students to be able to attend without worry. Their parents are already paying for them to attend, and we believe that as a community, this provides us the perfect opportunity to help dress them up. We are super excited about getting the chance to partner with our Communities in Schools staff members to host a much bigger event," Young said.

The group is currently taking donations of formal dresses in current styles, in gently worn to nearly-new condition. Dresses should be in good repair and clean. If a dress has been altered, please attach a tag with the approximate altered size. Monetary donations will also be accepted.

Donations may be dropped off at Lou Nell's Fashions, Everything Unique, Sulphur Springs Middle School and Sulphur Springs High School. Please contact Jamie Young at jyoung@ ssisd.net or Dana Sills at dsills@ssisd.net with questions.

More details about the March event will appear in a future issue of the Sulphur Springs News-Telegram.