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Project Prom provides gowns to area girls

Project Prom, a joint effort by Salem and West Branch high schools to provide girls with free prom gowns, plans to hold a second giveaway date from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at Salem High School. Visitors should park in the main lot off F.E. Cope Drive and enter through the gym. Showing off a sampling of dresses, from left, are Salem Junior High secretary and Project Prom advisor Amy Johnson, and helpers Salem sophomore Ellie Davidson, Salem junior Allee Davidson and West Branch junior Camryn Hayes. (Salem News photo by Mary Ann Greier)

— WHAT: Project Prom

— WHERE: Salem High School. Visitors should park in the main lot off F.E. Cope Drive and enter through the gym.

— WHEN: Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 25.

— PURPOSE: Offer hundreds of donated, free prom dresses to any area student from any area school with no income requirement.

——————–

SALEM –Project Prom moved to a larger venue at Salem High School this year, giving young ladies more room to browse the racks and dressing rooms to try on their selections when the giveaway takes place from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday.

According to advisor Amy Johnson, who is also the Salem Junior High secretary, they gave away more than 300 dresses last year in the basement of the administration building. That was a tight fit when you combine wall to wall dresses and a crowd of teen girls anxious to try them on.

The decision was made to move to the larger facility where there is ample parking and built-in dressing rooms in the form of locker rooms, plus more walking around space.

“There’s plenty of room here,” she said.

This actually will be the second giveaway. An event was held on March 11, but did not attract as many attendees as usual due to competition from several sporting events for area schools. So the decision was made to do it again.

Project Prom started 12 years ago as a way to help girls in need afford to go to the prom and each year seems to offer girls even more variety than ever before. Offered are long dresses, short dresses, sizes which stretch from zero to the 20s, and every color of the rainbow represented along with every hue in between.

“We have all different styles,” Johnson said.

If it is the straight and narrow, it is there. Want to be a princess? That style is represented. Mermaid, sweetheart, lots of embellishments — those are all there.

All dresses have been donated and some are even brand new. Project Prom received 50 new gowns from The Winner in Sharon and also received donations of new dresses from Elizabeth Renea’s in downtown Salem. Manhattan Cleaners and Yuhanick’s Cleaners both provided coupons for discounts. Ambassador Tuxedo is also offering coupons and discounts, with some money coming back to Project Prom. For every tux rental which mentions Project Prom, money from the discount will be returned to Project Prom to help support the program. Door prizes will be available, too.

Any girl from any school can come to shop. Johnson said there is no income requirement. She explained that since it is so expensive to go to prom, there is no reason to have to spend that much money. She and Jana Stitle, a guidance counselor at West Branch, oversee the program with help from students who volunteer to help out by organizing the dresses and assisting the day of the giveaway. Both schools use student volunteers, along with Salem High School Key Club members.

“They’re amazed there are so many dresses,” Johnson said.

A few of the volunteers modeled some of the gowns for a recent television promotion. Prom season is coming quickly, with most in late April and early May. Salem and West Branch both have their proms the same night, May 5, which is the same night for Lisbon and Crestview. Columbiana and Leetonia kick off prom season on April 28.

Johnson doesn’t see the program stopping anytime soon.

“I hope people still donate the dresses. We’ll find the time to give them away,” she said.

mgreier@salemnews.net

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