Kiahna Sales
Prom is a rite of passage that has always been one of the most important ceremonial events of American youth. It is a day in our lives that we never forget as we grow. With that said, prom can cost a fortune for girls wanting to look their best for one night only. Adding the total of getting your hair and makeup done, buying the shoes, accessories and the one-time dress could cost up to $600.
Meghan Atilano who is the volunteer committee chairman wants women to be themselves and not weighed down by their financial problems.
“We want to empower women to feel beautiful and not insecure about their financial burden when they want go to prom or homecoming. We do this by giving out gorgeous gowns that were donated by people that want them to go to better use. All you need is your school ID,” Atilano said.
Atilano explains that with this program families don’t have to worry about the huge expenses that prom puts on them. It also lets the teens have fun and not to worry about the cost of the dress that want.
“Hopefully it relieves stress, but also lets young women feel beautiful and have fun… that’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re a teen,” Atilano said.
For the young girls, The Princess Project helps them stop stressing with finding everything they need for prom.
“There are a lot of pressures as a teen, we hope to alleviate some of that pressure
by giving them a gown and an accessory,” Atiliano said.
This doesn’t just help out families and teen girls but also helps out the community by letting people volunteer and donate items that they don’t need anymore.
“It helps out the community in two ways: The obvious one is we give young women free gowns. The other is the amount of volunteers that come out of the woodworks, donating gowns, picking up gowns for dry cleaners, setting up the dress store and helping on the dress giveaway days,” Atilano said.
The Princess Project has done incredible things just 0ver this year. They have impacted so many lives in so little amount of time.
“This year alone we have gave away 1,300 prom gowns, and we hope to do the same for homecoming. We have over 3,000 dresses to give away, we just need help spreading the word to the teens,” Atilano said.
