A p ril 13, 2011
^ortJanà (Dbserucr
IN S ID E
TheWeek ¡n Review
S ustainability
O pinion
This page
Sponsored by:
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Fred Meyer
What's on your list today?,
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P
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J d'. i.’' >> À A
' u"“ v
A
pril
C alendar
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photo by C ari H achmann /T he P ortland O bserver
Madeline Polak, a senior at Lakeridge High School and a member o f the Student Advisory Board for
Abby's Closet, tries on a royal blue, donated dress for the camera.
Prom Gowns All Around
Donated dresses
make dreams
come true
C ari H achmann
T he P ortland O bserver
Prom in the modem era is no
simple affair. For many young men
and women, the graduation party is
a pinnacle event of their high school
teen lives and a chance to live a
night of luxury with celebrity-wor-
thy dresses and tuxes, fancy din­
ners, party limos, paparazzi, live
bands, hotel rooms, and the list goes
on.
For young ladies, expectations
for prom are set high, and the price
tag to look pretty is even steeper.
First, a girl needs the perfect gown
and shoes to match. Don’t forget
manicures, pedicures, hairdos, jew ­
elry, and flowers. Then if you’re
getting more serious, add fake tans,
brow waxing, teeth whitening, and a
professional photographer to cap­
ture all of these wonderfully expen­
sive moments.
What ends up being a one-night,
spring affair of dressing up and
going out turns out to be a thou-
sand-dollar expenditure, which for
some parents looks like drained
wallets and dipping into savings.
For the seventh consecutive
by
fNIttJAINMtNT
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H ealth
C lassifieds
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R eligion
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F ood
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year, Portland non-profit Abby’s
Closet offers a financial hand to
hundreds o f dream ing-of-prom
teens and parents by giving away
free, donated prom dresses.
T h o u san d s o f high school
women from all over Oregon and
Washington this month flocked to
the Doubletree Hotel’s Lloyd Cen­
ter Exhibition Hall, where supported
by hundreds of volunteers, Abby’s
Closet held their two-day 7th An­
nual Prom Gown Giveaway.
“Each year the numbers of young
women who attend our two-day
event increases,” said Sally Egland,
founder and president of Abby’s
Closet. “This year, Abby's Closet
made our greatest impact yet by
providing free gowns to 2,200 high
school woman.”
With 7,273 beautiful donated
dresses to choose from, all varying
in size, shape, and color, each enter­
ing high school student took a num­
ber and waited their chance to search
through racks of glimmering op­
tions.
Once called, girls hunted for the
ideal prom dress and with the help of
friends, mothers, siblings, and all
the volunteers wearing bright pink
shirts, including on-site seam ­
stresses, each walked away with a
free, dream gown.
“The event provides an encour­
aging community for high school
woman to feel confident as they
select their dream dress,” said
Egland.
This year, for the first time, Abby’s
Closet conducted the “Dreams Can
Come True” contest to honor a
young woman who embodies the
spirit and mission of the organiza­
tion, which is “to inspire confidence
and respect in high school women
by providing free formal gowns for
prom and other memorable events”.
Maria Martell, a senior at Glencoe
High School in Hillsboro was an­
nounced the winner after careful
reviewing of the applications.
“The selection committee was so
impressed with Maria,” said Egland.
“She is a well-deserving young
woman who has worked hard aca­
demically and personally to set and
achieve her dreams”.
As the winner, Martell was al­
lowed to choose the first gown of
the year from the Abby’s Closet
event. She also received gift certifi­
cates and other prizes to help her
look and feel confident on her prom
night and a monetary award to be
used for higher education.
Abby’s Closet, run entirely by
volunteers, has been helping prom
dreams come true since 2004 when
the non-profit organization was co­
founded by Egland, her daughter
continued
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