Rich East Shows Prom Wear at Fashion/Talent Show

As a flowing Pink Chiffon dress came out of a plastic garment bag, you can hear the squeals of delight from a few of the Rich East High school girls that volunteered to model.

"We started this process with the young ladies with a kickoff meeting in January," said Deirdre Richie, Rich East Booster Club Secretary. "We had dress selection days on January 23, Feb. 6, Feb. 20 and March 5, 2016. We opened dress selection to our sister campuses Rich South and Rich Central on Feb. 20. It has been great watching the young ladies and gentlemen throughout the process," Richie added.

" Pretty Prom Dress Fashion and Talent Show" which was held this past Saturday at Rich East High School with 17 students who volunteered to model. The show was sponsored by the new Rich East Parent Booster Club. Over 100 prom dresses were donated. Tuxes were provided by Somewear Apparel in Park Forest.

D’Andre Moore, President of the Rich East Parent Booster Club couldn’t have been more proud of how the fashion/talent show turned out.

“The most rewarding experience is seeing the student’s faces when something is done for them. We have taken office and we hit the ground running planning for our kids,”

Vice President, Yvette Jones of the Rich East Booster Club agreed as well. “ We impacted several girl’s lives prior and today. It was my idea to have this event after seeing a video of one 4 years prior. I picked up at least 90% of the dresses from donors as far as Rockford, Chicago and Indiana,” added Jones.

As the music played in the gym at Rich East, couples walked down a path of gold and green balloons, with dates matching colors perfectly.

Bill Shugan, owner of Somewear Apparel & Tailoring in Park Forest was happy to provide the tuxedo’s for the prom event. “ I’m active in the community, we wanted to help promote this prom event. We are here as well as a collection point for prom dresses that we will donate. “ The shop features attire not only for proms but business as well including tailoring.

The Rich East Parent Booster Club encourages the community to get involved. “ I would let parents know that being a part of the Rich East Parent Booster Club is a life changing opportunity for our children,” Yvette Jones adds. “ The club offers an outlet for the students to learn, to grown and have fun. Our planned activities are family and community nights to build and to bring people closer such as open basketball nights and other forums.”

“ We’re a breath of fresh air and their outlet to a long day,” added Jones.

In three months a lot has been done already. “Parents and community members can join by coming to a meeting at the school,” adds D’Andre Moore. “Our meetings are usually on the second Monday at Rich East High School in the Media Center at 6:30pm. Any wanting to come and join or even share ideas are always welcomed to attend,” Moore said.

The organization still has prom dresses to give away, The Booster Club has now opened the prom dress giveaway to area students. If you can't afford a dress and are looking for help, dresses are still available by contacting by email: richeastbooster@rocketmail.com.