Thanks to Project Prom, and a special fairy godmother in the form of Pierce County Public Library Manager Lavonnia Moore, teenagers in need of a dress don’t have to worry, even if they have been asked to go at the very last moment.
This year’s Project Prom began March 24 and runs the entire month of April. Never mind that prom night is April 26. To accommodate those in need of something to wear to 4-H formal events, the FBLA Ball, daddy and daughter dances and military balls, the library will still have the gorgeous garments on offer until April 30.
Project Prom first started in 2018 as part of the Okefenokee Regional Library System (OKRLS), specifically the Waycross branch. It evolved out of a phone conversation Lavonnia Moore, currently Pierce County Library’s manager, had with her niece in Texas. Moore’s niece mentioned she needed money for a fancy dress for homecoming. Moore was taken aback when she was told the dress would cost $500.
“I said, ‘Hold up.’ When I was in school, it was just t-shirts and jeans for homecoming. The outfit you wore to the big game was what you wore to the dance after,” says Moore. “Now, homecoming is just a mock-up of prom. People run from the game to get dressed up, so I decided parents might need some relief.”
As she relates the origin of Project Prom, Moore searches among the racks of gowns and dresses, looking for her niece’s dress, arguably the dress that started it all and which was eventually donated to the cause. “It’s gone,” Moore chuckles after a moment. “Someone already picked it.”
A collection of dresses were gathered and made available to local teens, no questions asked. They can come in, pick one out, take it home and it is theirs forever. Eventually, the project became a traveling event, moving from county to county within the OKRLS, sharing the love and the fashions. As the years went by the number of dresses on offer grew and grew, even as a great many were given away.
“When I first started, most of the dresses came from Peaches and Dreams, Run N Chase, Megan’s Dress Shop and even donations from The ME Shoppe when it shut down,” says Moore.
Even after Moore moved to her current position at the Pierce Library, Project Prom continued to bloom and prosper. Eventually, controversy over an inclusivity mural, pride flags and bathroom usage at the Waycross branch of OKRLS led to the Pierce library leaving OKRLS. It was a bittersweet parting for Moore. She says when the break occurred, staff at the OKRLS told her to take Project Prom with her. “They told me, ‘Lavonnia, you started it. You should keep it. It should go with you.’” These days, Pierce is part of the Three Rivers Regional Library System (TRRLS) and plans are underway to adopt the Project Prom model for Pierce’s new sister libraries. Unlike the old OKRLS model, TRRLS will not have a traveling program. Each library will maintain their own store of dresses for Project Prom, but Moore’s original idea will continue to flourish and grow in new soil.
There are currently approximately 125 gowns and dresses on hand plus about 75 homecoming dresses and for the guys, there is a small selection of vests and dress shirts. Selections range from homecoming and prom dresses to office dresses suitable for work, Easter dresses and even wedding and bridesmaid dresses. Nor do you need to have a big dance or event looming in your future. Teens are welcome to take a dress just in case they might need one in the future.
Twelve library patrons have made use of Project Prom so far this year and Moore says that all have seemed very happy with their selections. The mothers accompanying many of the future fashion plates are sometimes surprised or confused by the no-strings-attached nature of Project Prom. “They ask me what they have to pay and I tell them, nothing, it’s free,” says Moore.
The only drawback, says Moore, is when patrons 18 or older come in. Moore hates to turn anyone away, but says, “Our event is strictly for 18 years old and under.” One other word of caution she offers is that the dress sizes may not always match what is on the tag. “Dresses do get altered, but they can also be altered again to suit the new person,” says Moore. She advises picking one out with time to adjust the fit before the event to which it will be worn.
As for what happens to the pretty frocks once prom season passes and school is done for the summer, Moore says, “At the end of the event we pack them up for a bit until we pull them back out in six months for homecoming.” During homecoming season Project Prom becomes known as Dress It Up, but the principle and the generosity are the same — as well as the need for more dresses.
“We’re still taking donations throughout the year,” says Moore and noting the cost of some dresses, “It is tax-deductible and makes a good write off.”
In the meantime, you don’t have to be Cinderella to get a great dress. Moore will be your fairy godmother and Project Prom will get you ready for the ball.
