Prom Fairies make dreams come true
Among the memorable milestones of the teen years, is high school graduation and prom. But not everyone gets to live the fairy-tale dream of dressing up in a floor-length evening gown to be whisked off for a night of festivities.
Alexander Galt volunteer Nancy Grey was unable to attend her own high school prom and she wants to spare other graduates the sting of disappointment she felt.
“I was not fortunate enough to attend my own prom,” she told a huge crowd gathered for a fundraising bingo at Alexander Galt High School last month. “I couldn’t bring myself to ask my parents for money to buy a dress. Times were tough back then and it just seemed a selfish thing to ask for,” Grey said, adding with a laugh that she did however, have a date lined up.
“When the time came for my daughters to graduate high school, I was a single mom, scraping to make ends meet, so both of them worked and bought their own dresses. I wish that Prom Fairies had existed back then,” Grey said.
Six years ago, Grey and a handful of volunteers held their first bingo to raise funds to outfit at least one graduate and possibly another for prom night.”our bingo has come a long way over the last six years,” she said, from that first one at The Hut attended by 30 people. “There weren’t many prizes , but people came out to support this cause that is so near and dear to my heart,” Grey said. “The goal for that year was to help one girl – to make her prom dream come true.”
Since that time, the bingo crowds have grown to the point the only venue large enough to hold the event is the high school cafeteria and donations from generous local businesses have poured in to fill several tables. Since its modest beginnings, the Prom Fairies have outfitted 60 high school students and this year, 18 students will get the head-to-toe treatment by the Prom Fairies for the big event June 29.
Grey is joined in her mission by prom fairies Wanda Evans, Jody Williams and Louise Tardif who have been with her since the beginning.
But it is the overwhelming support of the community that has made this annual event the extraordinary success it has become. “We could not have done this without the generosity of so many,” Grey said. “Together we are making dreams come true.”
If you are a member of a group or organization working to improve the quality of life for others in the community, you are invited to contact Sharon Mccully at The Record to be added to the list of contributors for this weekly column at 819-569-6345.