Bonnie Miller and Malisa Carter love helping girls look terrific when attending their school prom, an awards ceremony or even on the most special day of their life; their wedding day.
This past Saturday, the two women opened the doors of Miller's Creek United Methodist Church in North Wilkesboro to girls in the area who either could not afford a dress of their own or those who chose to borrow a dress instead of spending an excessive amount of money for a dress to wear for one night.
"We loaned out beautiful dresses on Saturday," Miller said. "We have even had some donations of shoes and jewelry and were able to provide several of the girls with accessories too. We also were given make-up and lip stick samples and provided several of the girls with those items as well."
Priceless Prom Dresses is the program that Miller and Carter began last year in an effort to provide special occasion dresses to teenage girls to wear to their prom. The program received additional donations throughout the year and now has dresses that would be suitable for awards dinners and even those appropriate for a wedding.
"We have one beautiful off-white strapless gown with embroidered flowers that would work wonderfully for a wedding gown," Miller said. "We have even had a couple of matching bridesmaids dresses donated and several of the other gowns would work well for a bridesmaid.
"There are also several gowns, dresses and suits that would be perfect for an older woman to wear to a special event. Malisa and I played dress-up ourselves and we know what wearing a special dress to your prom can mean. Even if a family can afford a gown, why spend so much money on a dress that you'll only ever wear once or twice. Our program provides the dress free of charge on a loan program and we have several hundred to choose from."
Miller said that although their open fitting date was this past Saturday, if anyone needs a gown, please call them.
"The program is open to any girl who needs a dress," Miller said. "It's not just for those living in Wilkes County. We had one girl come from Caldwell County. Anyone in the area is welcome to call us and we'll meet them to find a dress they'll look beautiful in."
"We have a great seamstress who does fittings with the girls and the dress they choose," Miller said. "If any of the girls in Elkin need a dress for their prom on Saturday, please tell them to call us. The sooner, the better of course, like Monday or Tuesday. We'll be glad to meet with them so they can choose a dress. There are a couple hundred to choose from. And, the sooner they can pick a dress, the sooner our seamstress can do the alterations so the dress fits them perfectly.
"Just recently, we had a girl who called on a Saturday who needed a dress by Monday night to wear to an awards ceremony. Our seamstress met with her on Saturday, after she picked one, and had the dress ready for the young lady to wear to receive her award on Monday. She's been really great with the girls and in helping with the program.
"This is only our second year and we're hoping to continue to expand," she said. "Anyone who has a special occasion dress they would like to donate to the program can contact us anytime also. We're very appreciative of the response we've received in the donations. We're also very pleased with the response of the girls in borrowing a dress.
"We hope to continue to add more dresses as well as shoes, wraps, jewelry and other items girls may need on that special night," she said. "Our goal is to one day be able to provide hair stylist and make-up specialist on the day of the prom so the girls can have help in preparing for their prom."
The program loans the dresses, free of charge, to the girls for their event. They then ask the girls to have the dress cleaned and bring the receipt when they return the dress. The program then reimburses the girls the money for the cleaning.
Anyone interested in borrowing a special occasion dress may contact Bonnie Miller at 336-667-6774 or Mailsa Carter at 336-973-0607, or e-mail to pricelesspromdresses@yahoo.
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