Dress drive keeps prom dreams alive
Click here for updates on this story
MISSION, KS (KCTV) — Prom season is almost here! You can expect to start seeing promposal posts all over the internet soon, but prom isn’t something all students can afford.
On Sunday, KCTV5’s Leslie Aguilar spoke with a woman who’s trying to make it possible for every student in Johnson County to have prom memories.
According to a 5-year-old study from Visa, people in the Midwest spend an average of $733 on prom. That includes the tickets, the dress or tux, shoes, corsages, maybe a limo, and dinner.
So, next month a studio on Johnson Drive in Mission will open to high school students to shop for a prom outfit for free.
As a longtime school teacher, Laura Herrick has seen a lot of students in need.
“Even here in Shawnee Mission, we have a very diverse population and there’s a lot of students even in Johnson County who need some help and some support,” she said.
Prom can be costly and even impossible for many students to afford.
“I think it’s something people don’t traditionally think about,” she said. “I mean, you think about people needing food, people needing their basic needs, which are clothes and things like that. And, maybe this seems a little superficial? But, it’s kind of not at the same time. It’s kind of a milestone.”
Herrick is doing her best to make sure Johnson County students don’t have to miss out on that special high school memory. She’s collecting dresses, shoes, and even suits and ties.
Emily Kyle and her mother donated four dresses to the cause. One of them was one of her homecoming dresses.
She said she went to every school dance Shawnee Mission North had.
“I think those dances are a really important experience that kind of lasts with you, being able to go with friends and stuff,” she said. “So, if a dress is a barrier to being able to go to that, I see how that would be really hard on a student.”
On March 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the studio will be turned into a store where high schoolers can shop for a free outfit that’s likely only ever been worn once before.
“We had hoped to maybe get some people to donate doing hair, nails, makeup,” Herrick said. “Wow, if somebody could donate gift cards to restaurants so they could go eat dinner, that would be amazing too.”
Herrick will continue taking donations until the big shopping event.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
