Students in need of prom dresses can get help today

More than 200 free prom dresses will be available to try on and take home today at WiLLow LeaVes of Hope.

The Hope for Prom event organized by the Students Fund of Hope sought to provide prom apparel to every student in need of help with clothes, shoes or accessories for the Hauser prom.However the huge amount of support means that students from other area schools are also welcome to get free dresses, says Whitney Budd an organizer of the event.

"We were contacted by a teacher at Hauser, and she said that a student had come to her and said that they were really going to struggle to get to prom, if they didn't have help with apparel," Budd said. "She contacted us and said 'Is this something you would be willing to organize? I would hate for these kids not be be able to go to prom.' We said 'Absolutely!' It really wasn't our idea but it came from a need from students there."

Budd said that the group has received donations of more than 200 dresses, with more than 40 arriving at her house yesterday morning alone. The group also has accessories and some men's apparel including a few dress shirts, slacks, suspenders and ties.

Budd said that if boys need assistance with purchases, the group will also pay for that out of general funds for the charitable organization.

The try-on event will be from 3 to 8 p.m. today at Willow Leaves of Hope on the north side of the Town Square.

Students Fund of Hope was started last fall as a way to cover school lunch costs for those students whose families had been taken to court over unpaid lunch fees. After all of those cases were paid off, Students Fund of Hope then began helping with several tragedies that hit the schools.

The next fundraiser for Students Fund of Hope will be April 20th at Clifty Creek Golf Course, It will include a lantern festival and night golf outing, Budd said. The media sponsor for that will be KORN Country.