Highland Park Mom Seeks Donations for 'Dress Boutique' at Elm Place

A Highland Park woman who created a “Dress Boutique” for local families in need last year are doing it again this year and are in need of dresses in excellent condition for the endeavor.

Last fall, Jill Rudman and her 14-year-old daughter, Tatum asked their friends, family and community to donate new and gently-used dresses of all sizes for girls in grade school through high school. They quickly received more than 400 dresses, all of which were on display at Elm Place School on a Saturday morning in December as part of the school’s annual Day of Giving.

After the donations poured in, Rudman stored, steamed and organized everything and transformed the elementary school library into “a complete shopping experience” with makeshift dressing rooms, full-length mirrors and rolling racks of beautiful dresses in the current styles.

“The Dress Boutique made a lot of girls smile that day thanks to the generosity of our community,” Rudman said.

The success of the event last year (the dresses sold out in 20 minutes) makes doing the same thing this fall a no brainer.

“We realized right then that the girls in our schools and community have a real need for new beautiful dresses for holidays and special events, and our event can service hundreds of families while raising awareness of diversity and charity in Highland Park and Highwood,” Rudman said, noting that about 17 percent of the student population at Elm Place is in the free and reduced lunch program so there is a need for charity in the Highland Park community.

The City of Highland Park recognized Jill as part of the 2015 Robert Barnard Character Counts Awards, which are hosted every year by the City’s Human Relations Commission in collaboration with North Shore School District 112 and Highland Park High School.

The Dress Boutique will once again open its doors at Elm Place School on Saturday, December 12 and Rudman is collecting dresses now for the event.

She is also reaching out to local businesses for in-kind donations designed to enhance the Boutique experience, such as accessories, and beauty products (hair, makeup, nails, etc.). To donate dresses in excellent condition, please contact Jill Rudman by email at jillb0709@gmail.com.

Photo: Jill Rudman with her daughter, Tatum at last year’s Dress Boutique.