New dresses, fresh jewels, and day long festivities are all hallmarks of prom season, but they come at a cost.
Most Prom dresses, tuxedos, and suits range from $150-$1,000. With Prom being a key part in the lives of many young men and women these high costs can prevent them from being able to have what many consider an essential experience.
“I think it will make people want to go to prom more. I know a lot of juniors who don’t plan on going to prom right now because of the cost and dresses are a big part of that,” prom committee member and junior Biaktha Khun said.
Fellow prom committee member and junior Evan Hess also thinks that prom dresses will positively benefit the community. Organizations like the Gifted Gown, an Indianapolis based year round formal wear project, made huge efforts to allow for everyone in the community to participate in prom by reaching out to people for donations, especially during prom season.
“They would allow people with a smaller budget to get nice dresses without the high price tag. That’s something that’s really important because a lot of the prom experience is the outside view people have combined with the confidence people have and having a nice appearance will really add to the experience,” Hess said.
In Johnson County, organizations like Project Prom have collaborated with schools to provide low income students using donated formal wear. Project Prom and the Johnson County Public Library united forces to get the formal wear to students by having JCPL branches host Project Prom donation events in late March and early April.
“The dresses first get donated to an organization called Project Prom. It’s behind the Franklin branch library in Greenwood, and they provided free formal wear from March 28- April 2,” Mrs. Christian-Moss said.
Project Prom made a concerted effort to get the word out about the free formal wear in Johnson County. The guidance department included information about the non-profit in both the February and March editions of the guidance department newsletter.
