The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
PRINCESS FOR A DAY
Oneida: First Presbyterian Church extended Prom Dress Giveaway through this week
ONEIDA, N.Y. » Local high schoolers got the princess treatment Saturday at the First Presbyterian Church’s annual Prom Dress Giveaway.
Autumn Naylor, 17, of Oneida, came with 18-year-old cousin Samantha Mongeon to find just the right dress for Naylor’s junior prom. Last year, Naylor bought a dress online, but regretted it after the dress turn out “scratchy.” She didn’t like putting it on.
This year was different, she said.
“I fell in love with the dress. I felt very confident in it and I felt pretty, like I was a princess. I love the dress,” Naylor said. “I’m so excited.”
Hundreds of dresses lined racks at the First Presbyterian Church as girls from across Madison and Oneida County looked through to find the perfect dress.
Local event founder Becky Williams, an active member of the church, said Naylor’s reaction to finding her dress brought the church staff to tears.
“This is the reason why we do this,” Williams said. “As a church, showing God’s love to the community is first and foremost. This is a wonderful outreach program for just that. The cost of a prom dress is just so astronomical. We’ve heard people who have brought dresses in and said they only paid $600 and wanted someone else to use it.”
Isabella Scholl, 15, and her mother Mary Ann Scholl came all the way from Utica to get a dress for Isabella’s Military Ball at Notre Dame Junior Senior High School.
“We heard about the giveaway yesterday,” Scholl said. “It’s our first time here. There’s quite a nice selection of dresses.”
“The first three dresses I tried on were pink and I’m not much of a fan of pink,” Isabella said. “I saw this one here and I was
looking for something on the blue-ish, teal-ish side and I really like this one. It’s not plain, but it’s not too flashy.”
Kristin Tooker, an active member of the church, said that more and more people are coming to the church from further and further away with each passing year. This year, the church gave away more than 30 dresses and saw people from Ilion to Manlius and every school in-between.
The church started the prom dress giveaway in 2008 as the recession caused rising unemployment locally and took a significant toll on several local families’ incomes. At that time, Williams reported on the success that similar programs were having in more urban areas such as Syracuse, and wanted to try to see what type of response they would receive here. A call for gently-worn prom gowns and dresses was launched and the response was overwhelming.
The church accepts dress donations year round through Second Hand Rose Consignment. Each year, the group gets new dresses added to their inventory. But to keep enough styles, variety and sizes available to choose from, they ask that those who select a dress return it after the prom so that another young lady can receive the same benefits next year.
This year, Williams said the church has made the decision to keep prom dresses on the rack for all of next week for anyone who couldn’t make it and missed the giveaway. Williams said anyone interested should call 315-3637590 andmake an appointment.