How The Fairy Glam Project is Granting Prom Wishes

Every girl deserves the chance to go to her senior prom. To celebrate 12 years of hard work, to dance the night away with friends, and to feel like the princess she is.

Yet, for many girls, prom is a fairy tale – a dream that may never come true. Once you add together the dress, the shoes and the preparation, prom can cost a girl more than $630. For middle class families, paying for the night can be difficult. For families living day to day, granting their daughter’s wish can be impossible.

It’s a scenario Nikole Perkins witnessed first-hand. Six years ago, the mom heard of a teen who would be staying home on prom night, unable to pay for a dress. Perkins dipped into her own closet to ensure the girl had the night of her dreams. The next year, after she opened up her own boutique in downtown St. Louis, she began collecting donated dresses for a handful of deserving girls.

Said Perkins: “With senior year, there are so many expenses – class rings, pictures, caps and gowns – not to mention trying to pay for things like prom. We want to eliminate some of a girl’s financial stress by providing her a dream dress.”

Together with caring volunteers and generous donors, Perkins’ organization, The Fairy Glam Project, has continued to grow, granting prom wishes to hundreds of young ladies in just a few short years.

How a prom dress offers hope

For many of us, our closets are packed with cocktail and bridesmaid dresses, never to be worn again. Instead of wasting space, they can bring hope to a young lady, giving her the opportunity to shine on the outside as brightly as she does on the inside. And more important, to give her one night away from the trauma in her young life.

“The stories we hear can be so heart-wrenching,” said Perkins. “Girls caring for their siblings while their mothers are working two jobs to stay afloat. Girls in high school who are holding down full-time jobs just to pay bills. Girls living with grandparents because their parents are incarcerated or on drugs. They carry so much weight on their shoulders. Without a program like this, they wouldn’t be able to go to prom.”

Any girl who is a junior or senior and holds a valid student I.D. can pick from hundreds of free donated prom dresses and accessories at the Fairy Glam Prom Dress Give-A-Way on Saturday, March 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. next to The Gap Outlet at the St. Louis Outlet Mall. Thanks to individual dress donors, businesses and the Metro St. Louis Cinderella Project, another prom dress collection organization, girls can shop to their hearts’ content, free from financial worry.

The Prom Dress Give-A-Way is not only a shopping extravaganza, but a motivational event to inspire teens, complete with informational booths, vendors and speakers. During the event, girls will hear about women’s health issues from the St. Louis Department of Health, learn make-up tips from local stylists, register for door prizes, and even meet with a seamstress if their prom dress needs to be fitted.

For Perkins, Fairy Glam Mother and busy married mom of an eight-year-old and an 11-month-old, the Prom Dress Give-A-Way is just the first step in reaching out to girls in need. She is currently working on expanding the effort into a year-round program that boosts teens’ self-esteem.

“My hope is to expand into offering girls workshops on life and how to overcome obstacles,” she explained. “A lot of these girls have aspirations to go to college after senior year, and we want to provide scholarships so all of their dreams can come true, not just their prom dreams.”

The Fairy Glam Project is currently accepting new and gently-used prom, bridesmaid and formal dresses. For a full list of drop-off locations, visit http://nvizion.wix.com/fairyglamproject#!projects/c21kz.

_{Photos courtesy of Fairy Glam Project}