History
The first Prom Attire Event was held in the Spring of 2006. The idea was pitched by Penn State student Maria
-Teresa Grinneby to Catherine Lehman of the Volunteers in Public Schools program. Collaborating with students from the State College Area High School as well as Connie Schulz, the first Prom Attire Event was held over the course of one weekend in the high school's counseling office. The event, though small, was successful in helping 17 area students attend their proms free of financial burden. At that point, the Prom Attire Event closet consisted of nearly 75 gowns, a dozen suits, and various accessories.
Having already seen the successful implementation of the Prom Attire Event, the 2007 event was sure to be bigger and better. With nearly 200 gowns, dozens of suits, and many accessories, the Prom Attire Event held two weekends of "Open Closet" time during which approximately 50 high school students from schools throughout Centre County and the surrounding area stopped by to "shop" our store free of cost, many finding the gown of their dreams.Through a joint effort between the Volunteers in Public Schools, the Family Outreach Program, and community and student volunteers, the event was once again a great success.
In 2008 the Prom Attire Event continued to be sponsored by student and community volunteers through Volunteers in Public Schools and the Family Outreach Program and ran for four weekends at the University Mennonite Church in State College.
2009 marked the Prom Attire Event's fourth year of service, with two event weekends and by-appointment openings at the Fairmount Avenue Elementary School. Seamstresses Vicki Clauer, Poppy Gatto, and Mary Peterson offered on-site alterations both Saturdays of the event. During the course of our 2009 event, we had several hundred area students stop by, and were able to provide 100 of them with suits and gowns for their prom free of cost.
Our 2010 event marked five years of providing free prom attire and was a huge success. In our two event weekends, 237 students attended, with 156 girls walking away with gowns and 12 guys walking away with either a free suit/tux or tux rental. These numbers represent a 25% increase in attendance and a 40% increase of students who walked away with free prom attire.
In 2011 we celebrated our sixth year of service with over 200 students ultimately walking away with free prom attire. We look forward to another great year in 2012!
If you are interested in donating any gently worn or new prom attire items to our organization, please contact us at centreprom@gmail.com --- Our program continues to thrive due to the support and assistance of generous community members!
