Dress them up: Social work students help girls experience prom

March 12, 2013 | Events, UToday, — Education, Health Science and Human Service
By Samantha Watson



For many people, prom is one of the most memorable experiences from their high school years — but some girls miss out because of the high cost of a dress.

Students, from left, Charlotte Cox, Ashley Wickerham and Chelsea Alexander show off some of the dresses they’ve collected for Once Upon a Prom.

Students, from left, Charlotte Cox, Ashley Wickerham and Chelsea Alexander show off some of the dresses they’ve collected for Once Upon a Prom.

To make sure no girl in the Toledo area misses her big prom night this year, some social work students at The University of Toledo came up with an idea. With the help of the Student Social Work Organization sponsorship and plenty of dress donations, these students planned Once Upon a Prom.

From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 17, in the Student Union T-section on UT’s Main Campus, girls from the area are invited to pick out a dress for prom, and it’s completely free.

The idea came from social work student Charlotte Cox, who recruited other senior social work students to help collect more than 100 dresses.

“Some of the Toledo area girls experience poverty,” said Ashley Wickerham, a senior social work student from Walbridge, Ohio, who is helping with the event. “We just wanted to try to provide dresses for them so they didn’t miss out on prom because they couldn’t afford one.”

Dresses are being collected up until the date of the event and can be dropped off at the Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women in Tucker Hall Room 0168. To arrange to have a dress picked up or dropped off, email onceuponapromdress@gmail.com.

The students hope to make this an annual event.

For any questions, email jhcehshs-stusvcs@utoledo.edu.

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