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JAMESTOWN, NY (WNY News Now) – It’s officially prom season and excitement is high among students eager to dance the night away. However, the one thing that likely is on every prom-goers mind is what to wear. Luckily, a Jamestown based charitable group has that question covered and is giving away attire for free.
The community has come together, with the help of Collaborative Children’s Solutions, to collect over 200 dresses, 30 pairs of shoes, and numerous jewelry pieces in hopes of helping upperclassmen find their perfect prom outfit.
Known as the Prom Dress Experience, the free distribution is the brainchild of Jill Smeraldo and friends.
“Last year and this year we’ve hosted a Lady’s Gala, just a night to celebrate women in the community and we laugh that we buy these fancy dresses and what do we do with them after, we wanted to give back to the girls since it was all ladies only so we wanted to collect some prom dresses and give back to the girls in the community,” Co-Owner of Collaborative Children’s Solutions Jill Smeraldo.
The goal is to relieve any financial anxiety from dress shopping.
“We wanted everybody to have a chance to go and celebrate that great night and have fun and not have to worry about those financial hardships or anything like that,” Smeraldo said.
The distribution seemed to be a big hit, with those at Saturday’s giveaway grateful.
“I just want to say thank you to the community for all of this. Like honestly, this is just amazing,” said first time prom goer Mollie Nolen.
“I just want to thank the community, we can’t do this without all of their donations and all of the support and all of the volunteers that have helped us,” said Smeraldo.
The Prom Dress Experience distributions will continue at the Northwest Arena in Downtown Jamestown on Saturdays through May 6th, with a few opportunities for those looking for a dress to come in on weekdays as well, through May 10th. To find a list of complete dates and times, you can visit the Collaborative Children’s Solutions Facebook page.
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