Prom season has arrived in a wave of glitter and flowing fabric. It's every high school girl's dream—to enter prom in the perfect dress, dazzling her date. However, a dress can be hard for some young women to come by. That's where Project Prom comes in.

Project Prom began eighteen years ago when founder Jean Richardson decided to rehome her daughters' old prom dresses. "I started it because I had a lot of prom dresses from my daughters piling up in my closets and didn't know what to do with them," said Jean. "I asked around high schools to see if there was a program to donate to the girls in need, and there wasn't. So, I started the program and started getting rid of my dresses. Word spread and I accumulated hundreds of dresses from our community. Every year, it just grew. We give away over 100 dresses a year to local high school girls."

The program exploded in popularity. I can attest to the project's successes; in 2014, I got my prom dress from Project Prom (and still have it somewhere...) As the project grew, it gained attention from ANB Bank. "They were looking for a project to take over. They were interested in Project Prom. What a blessing." said Jean. ANB took over the project three years ago, and since then, it has grown ever larger, giving out hundreds of dresses a year.

How to Pick a Dress From 'Project Prom'

All a student needs to receive a prom dress is their student ID from a Wyoming High School. They can drop by any day Project Prom is open to select their gown.

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If you aren't sure what dress to choose, the volunteers are happy to help. "The women are wonderful and love helping out," Jean noted. And the dresses won't need dry cleaning before prom. "Dresses are cleaned before students pick them up; there shouldn't be any tailoring. Everything is in good condition and in the current style."

Pick-Up Times:

  • Saturday, April 6: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Tuesday, April 2, 9, 16, 23: 3 to 6 p.m.

Note: One dress per girl. One guest is allowed per girl. Donations are accepted but not required.

Get more details on Project Prom by visiting its Facebook page here.

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Gallery Credit: Phylicia Peterson, Townsquare Media Laramie/Cheyenne

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