Help a Girl Afford to Go to Prom: Donate a Dress

Channahon resident and eighth-grader at Channahon Junior High School Lexi Jones cleaned out her closet for a good cause. She donated 13 dresses and four pairs of shoes to the Channahon Junior High Beta Club, which is collecting used prom dresses and accessories that are still of modern style and in good condition.

“The Beta Club sponsor and members were surprised with my donation,” Jones said. “Hopefully, they (Guardian Angel Community Services) will be able to use them.”

 The Beta Club along with the Guardian Angel Community Services in Joliet will make the donated dresses available for teens who need help with the skyrocketing prices of prom.

A dress is just the beginning of the costs. Hair and nails have to be perfect. Don't forget forking over a few bucks for a limo and after-prom parties. And of course, you need the tickets.

Calculate these costs and it's hundreds of dollars for a few hours of fun. Teens will break the piggy bank and somehow scrape up the funds to attend the dance. Or they will ask to borrow some money from mom and dad.

Since many high school students cannot afford such costs, especially in this economy, the Beta Club decided to join with GACS.

Donations still will be accepted at Channahon Junior High School in Channahon, said Amy Delgado, Beta Club sponsor. 

Jenni Watgen, child/adolescent counselor for GACS, said donations are also accepted at GACS, 1550 Plainfield Road, in Joliet, through May.  All size dresses are welcome, but plus-sizes are usually limited and are in greater demand. All donations are for the GACS of Joliet Prom-n-Aid Project.

With the donations already received, a fashion show was held at GACS on Saturday, March 19.  

“The fashion show helps to promote the Prom N’Aid Project where girls from the community can get a free prom dress after taking a two-hour dating safety class,” Watgen said. “The class teaches the girls (and boys) about dating violence, date rape, sexual assault prevention, red flags to abusive relationships and setting boundaries.”

These classes will run through March, and there will be a shopping day set up for those students who took the class to come pick out a dress, Watgen said.

So ladies, start your Spring cleaning. And if you are still hanging on to those prom dresses, please consider donating them.

Guardian Angel Community Services (formerly, Guardian Angel Home), was founded in Joliet, Illinois in 1897 as an orphanage, run by the Sisters of Saint Francis of Mary Immaculate, to care for dependent and neglected children. In 1973, Guardian Angel Community Services became a licensed, child welfare agency and began focusing its efforts on addressing the increasingly complex problems of children and families. In August 2005, the Agency officially changed the name to reflect the wide array of services provided to the community. Guardian Angel Community Services expanded in the mid 1990’s to include an office in Morris, Illinois, which offers counseling, and medical and legal advocacy services to victims of domestic and sexual violence.