After watching a documentary about a girl who missed her own prom because her parents couldn’t afford to pay for a gown, Ally Elouise wanted to help.
The student knew that it was a problem for lots of teenagers in the UK as the big event can be pricey.
So in 2015, she sourced ball gowns from charity shops, bought them with her birthday money and put together a charity that loans them out to those who need help.
Now runs PromAlly, the UK’s first charity donating dresses and suits to school leavers, full time and now stocks 3,000 dresses and suits which she loans to disadvantaged teens.
The 25-year-old, from Penrhyn Bay, North Wales, initially piled up the dresses in her gran’s spare room but now runs a glitzy pop-up boutique from a transformed storage unit in nearby Colwyn Bay.
Ally said: ‘Everyone should be able to go to prom, but it’s so expensive and some people really struggling.
‘Parents can feel like they are letting their children down so it’s a big weight off their shoulders to be able to loan a dress or a suit.
‘There’s no point leaving a nice dress in your wardrobe or attic for years like I did.
‘It is a lot of work, but it’s worth it to see the reactions and know you’ve helped take some pressure off.’
They accent donated dresses and suits from people who no longer need them and then loan them out free of charge.
Customers can choose their dream dress via the website and the outfit is sent to them before they send it back to be dry cleaned and for someone else to wear.
More than 100 dresses and suits were loaned out to schoolgirls and boys in 2019, which were mostly referred by social services, food banks and charities.
While each child remains anonymous, Ally said one young carer who couldn’t afford to attend prom last year was able to wear her dream scarlet dress thanks to the charity.
Ally said: ‘She couldn’t afford to go because her mum was out of work due to illness.
‘Her mum felt like she’d let her daughter down but she was so relieved when we sent her a gorgeous red dress for her special night.
‘I also helped 30 young girls from a brain injury charity with dresses for their prom-themed party.
‘They were all in wheelchairs and had never had the chance to wear a prom dress before.’
Ally also wants to encourage people to be more sustainable and says that reusing outfits is much better for the environment.
She said: ‘Everyone is conscious about climate change, so it’s good to encourage people to reuse dresses instead of keeping them in their wardrobe or attic.’
Running the charity has been a really positive experience for Ally.
She added: ‘Reactions from parents are always nice and we always get positive feedback.
‘Girls send thank you cards and photos of them in the dresses while mums get emotional, so it’s nice to know we’ve taken that pressure off them.’
MORE: Woman gives away her prom dress for free to girls who can’t afford the costs
MORE: Girl’s prom date makes her dream dress from scratch when she couldn’t afford it
source https://metro.co.uk/2020/02/05/student-sets-store-loaning-free-prom-dresses-girls-cant-afford-12185624/
0 Comments