South Brunswick High School -Viking Closet's 5th Annual Sisterhood of the Traveling Prom Dress Event was a huge success!

More than 500 dresses donated, 30 businesses contributed, more than 60 volunteers for Fridays set up, more than 70 volunteers the day of the event, 4 makeup artists, 5 Henna artists, 2 Hairstylists, entertainment with soloists, duets, string trio and duet, a guitar solo, and movies played while patrons shopped. Students were able to enter our free raffles for senior prom tickets, junior prom tickets, mani/pedi's, up do's, makeovers, a swarovski necklace, a costume jewelry basket by Bling, Uggs, Michael Kors sandals, and 7 coach bags. A door prize was also given every hour to a lucky ticket winner. Students were also able to take home a free pair of prom shoes, a prom purse and a piece of jewelry. Each girl received a goodie bag full of items from Five Below as well as a beautiful bouquet from Hugs for Brady. Refreshments were as well were served to our guests.

Thanks to the amazing Viking Closet club students that worked tirelessly for months, especially the last 2 weeks before the event staying after school almost every day. Without them, this event would never have come to fruition. These students took a bland cafeteria and turned it into a beautiful dress boutique! A variety of skill sets were learned over the past few months. The students got involved in fundraising, advertising, short film making, photography,baking, banquet set up and take down, customer service, inventory, heavy lifting, display design, organization skills, and retail tasks to name a few.

We are very fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful caring township that volunteers and donates each year to our event. With the help of online and tri-state newspapers we also received other wonderful donations from many surrounding communities. Our staff and student volunteers of the high school are very dedicated to our mission and they do what it takes to get this event off the ground. They are vital to our success!

Along with makeovers and hairstyling we were able to add Henna tattoos to our repertoire. It was an overwhelming hit. Even our volunteers enjoyed the experience. We have some very talented SBHS students that are amazing Henna artists. Other new additions this year included Ms. Sokol-Orlandos Advanced Fashion Design class repairing some of the dresses that were in need of tender loving care. We also worked together with Jinhee Lee's organization Our Fairy Godmother. They donated 130 dresses to our event and in turn we will be giving them our dresses when our event is complete. Both of our organizations are trying to do the same thing; to help girls get to prom without the financial burden that comes with it.

This years Snowmaggeddon moved the SAT's and the Prom Preview Fashion show to the same weekend as the Traveling Prom Dress Event. It was wonderful to see all 3 events come together. Students that finished the SAT were able to come to the "dress boutique" and shop till they dropped, while finally relaxing after the long test. Students that were models in the Prom Preview Fashion show were able to get their hair and makeup done for the show. It was a truly a perfect storm.

Thanks to all the businesses that donated again this year, some new and many returning. The Viking Closet loves these businesses! Please check them out when you’re out and about. Kiki D's of Montgomery, Rasoi Restaurant & Banquet Hall III -Monmouth Jct, Nextage M3 Realty Group- Kendall Park, Alfonso's Pizzeria and Restaurant of Princeton, Nonna's Italian Restaurant of Englishtown, On the Border Mexican Grill and Cantina -New Brunswick,Acupuncture Clinic NJ- Kendall Park, Dutchess Florals -North Brunswick, Party Fair -Kendall Park, Windsor/Brunswick Driving Academy- South Brunswick, Master Tax- Kendall Park, Stop & Shop -Franklin, Chartwells, Five Below, Regency Cleaners -Franklin Park, Dusal's Pizza & Italian Restaurant -Kendall Park, Our Fairy Godmother, Mary Kay (Dorie Knott), Mom's Club of South Brunswick, The Potting Shed - Franklin Park, BlackRock Inc., D'Bella'a Beauty Salon -South Brunswick, Dollar Tree - South Brunswick, The Bling Chateau, Beauty by Sydney, Hugs for Brady,Touchstone Crystals by Swarovski's Jennifer Dockhorn, Liberty Nails, and Kathy Juana owner of Mission Lane. A special thanks to the restaurants- Alphonso’s, Nonna’s and On the Border who personally delivered all the food and fed the volunteers!