Community Closet Looking for Prom Dress Donations

Make no bones about it…Prom is expensive. Some of the gowns can cost upwards into a thousand dollars. If you are a teen and live in a single parent household or your parents make minimum wage, prom is just a dream.

Michelle Hensley from Steger, wants to turn those dreams into reality. The college student began a non-profit called The Community Closet of Steger through Facebook. She collects gently used clothes for anyone going through a tough time or in this case, girls who couldn’t go to prom.

“When taking in donations of gently used clothing, we occasionally got in dresses that looked like dance dresses or at least they could be used as dance dresses,” said Hensley. “Those donations we kept separate from the regular donations and just called it the formal closet”.

The first year Hensley asked for prom dress donations, the community came through.

“The ladies on Facebook really jumped on this idea,” Hensley said. “ We posted a need for one size and had offers and pictures of dresses in tons of sizes showing up. Our community was cleaning their closets and they were posting offers to help so fast that there were easily 100 posts in just the first day. People were meeting each other at local places like the library to give away their formal wear. Many ladies were bringing their dresses to the community closet. We started getting more requests for help. By the time the first prom was over, we had helped in the area of 40 girls,” added Hensley.

The Community Closet of Steger is again collecting prom gowns, shoes, jewelry and even young men’s shirts and suits for prom 2016. Hensley is calling it Promapalooza 2016!

“Last year, the formal part of the closet held two prom events at our home,” said Hensley. “We took all the formal dresses, shoes, purses and even the special undergarments needed for those dresses and costume jewelry and set up shop in our front yard. The dresses were hung across the front of our home and the other items were set up on tables. We invited area girls in need to come and find their dress.”

The Community Closet has 2 locations for drop off’s, One is the Hensley residence located at 35 W. 36th Place in Steger and First Christian Church of Dyer at 704 Joliet Street in Dyer Indiana. Drop off times are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the church main door.

Recently, seven young adults modeled prom wear to show what kind of dresses The Community Closet of Steger is looking for. SOMEWEAR Apparel in Park Forest provided the tuxedo’s while Hensley brought actual prom dress donations.

Volunteer model’s were happy to help.

“I volunteered to do the photo shoot for The Community Closet of Steger, because I simply enjoy being an inspiration to girls of all ages looking to find the perfect dress that brings out their inner beauty,” Veronica Tipps of Steger said.

“I would encourage other girls to donate their past dresses because it was once used as a representation of their inner beauty,” she added.

Young couple, Mike and Madison Nardi of Steger were eager to volunteer as well. “We wanted to volunteer for the Clothing Closet so that we could help our community reach out to families,” said Madison Nardi.

In 2015 after Hensley passed out several prom dresses, she still had more to give.

“Last year for prom we were able to help just over 70 girls and we were able to send dresses to a local school for their Cinderella closet and we were able to send just over 20 dresses to Indian Oaks for their in program prom,” Hensley said. “Indian Oaks helps kids who are going thru a rough time. These kids live at the program and the workers were going to have their own private prom to help the kids to build self esteem and to have a prom just like all the other teenagers. It gave them something to look forward to, to dream about and to be happy about. We received a donation of 20 pair of new shoes, which we were able to send to Indian Oaks also,” added Hensley.

If you are in need of a prom dress, Promapalooza 2016 will take place April 3rd & April 10th from Noon until 3 p.m. at First Christian Church of Dyer located at 704 Joliet Street in Dyer Indiana.

The Community Closet will be giving away gently used prom dresses and accessories to girls who would otherwise not have a dress for their prom. While supplies last. There will also be suits available to young men in need of a suit for their prom.

“Prom has to be the most important of all the dances,” Hensley said. “It marks the end of high school for most students and for those not attending college - it is the end of their life as a student and the start of their life in the adult working world. Girls want to be a princess for a day. They want to dress up and look beautiful. They want to spend time on their hair, on their makeup and their nails. They want to celebrate and take part in the prom celebrations that they have heard about all thru their school years. Why let a formal dress sit in your closet collecting dust when it can go to a girl who can not afford a dress and create memories that she will have for the rest of her life,” she added.

For more information join The Community Closet of Steger on Facebook or call First Christian Church of Dyer at 219-865-6646. Michelle Hensley can be reached at her e-mail Michelle.Hensley@trnty.edu

A BIG THANKS to: SOMEWEAR APPAREL in Park Forest and volunteer models; Veronica Tipps, Monica Gonzalez, Caty Perakis, Robert Hensley, Alex Flournoy, along with Madison & Mike Nardi.