Prom Boutique helps teens afford prom in style

 

These Maricopa women are making the difference in the lives of hundreds of young ladies.

For the past seven years, Yolanda Ewing and her group of volunteers have collected new and lightly used prom dresses, shoes and accessories to give to young women who might not be able to afford to attend one of the most important evenings of their life – prom.

“I had some students that I was working with and mentoring,” she said. “They and their parents couldn’t afford dresses for prom. I was thinking that there are probably more girls out there that have the same situation. I partnered up with two other young ladies and in 30 days we did a prom dress drive.”

She said they asked for people to donate prom dresses and they did.

“The community came together, and we were able to put together a boutique for the girls to come and shop,” Ewing said.

Now when she said shop, she really means have. They do not charge the ladies for the dresses or accessories.

Friday the Prom Boutique was at a “pop-up” location near the courthouse in Maricopa.

“We’ve had some bridal shops donate dresses. We had other boutiques donate dresses. It is an amazing experience,” Ewing said. “Some of them are $300 and $400 dresses.”

One unnamed store in Case Grande donated 20 new dresses to this year’s Prom Boutique.

“It is rewarding for me to see the girls come in, shop and just kind of get to know them,” Ewing said. “I hear their stories. Most of all, this is for the parents. It is such a relief that this is something that they don’t have to purchase. They have so many other expenses that they have to deal with, especially with seniors. It is our goal to help families.”

She said it also provides a great “mother and daughter” opportunity to plan for the prom.

Gayle Randolph is also one of the volunteers that makes the Prom Boutique a possibility.

“It really makes me teary-eyed when the moms come in and see the girls pick out their dress,” Randolph said. “The moms get teary-eyed and they’re proud. It is overwhelming when you come in and see all the dresses and all the jewelry. We just say pick whatever you want.”

The ladies are not only offered dresses but jewelry, shoes and even cologne.

“They leave really happy and that’s good,” Randolph said.

The girls are not inside the Prom Boutique alone – there’s a volunteer team ready and willing to help them put together a special look for a special evening.

“You feel really special when you have a personal shopper – and we’re not taking no for an answer, you have to find something,” Randolph said.

On average, Ewing said about 50 area young ladies find their special dress at the Prom Boutique. Some years it has been as high as 100.

One mother attending the Prom Boutique Friday with her daughter Athena Garcia was Sarah Aguilar.

“I think this is awesome,” Aguilar said. “Being a single mom, I think this is so beneficial. This is actually making her (daughter) want to go to the prom. She is always very considerate of my expenses. This motivates her to want to go. I had no idea of what to expect. I thought it might just be a couple dresses. I didn’t think it would be this great selection.”

Several others volunteer each year to make the Prom Boutique possible.