Dresses will be handed out this Saturday

Linda Murphy Lifestyle Editor @HNFastFood

SOMERSET — The Girl Up Club at Somerset Berkley Regional High School had a mission: collect prom dresses to “recycle” for their peers. They asked, and the public responded — with 125 dresses, to be exact.

Betsy Johnson, Ellie Wilde and Sherri Hill are just a few of the fashion designers’ dresses that were donated to The Prom Project, as the young women in the Girl Up Club dubbed the dress collection. They received 85 full-length dresses and 50 shorter formal dresses, as well as jewelry, bags and shoes.

This Saturday, the prom dresses will be given out to students in need of a prom or formal dress, all at no charge. With the cost of prom dresses ranging from $200 and up, they say it should appeal to many people: those in need, and those who would rather spend that amount of money on something else.

The faculty advisors to the club, English teacher Christine Burgmyer and school psychologist Tracy Medeiros praised the students for taking on the project and the community for responding so generously. “They worked hard throughout the year. It really derives from their desire to have a voice for their community,” said Burgmyer.

“I’m proud they thought of families who would not be able to afford a dress,” added Medeiros.

In addition to collecting from the community, many of the 35 or so females in the school’s Girl Up Club also donated their prom dresses from previous years.

“Prom dresses are a one-time thing, for the most part, after that they sit around in your closet,” said senior Tiffany Chasse, the social media director for club. “We wanted to not only see our prom dresses put to good use, we also wanted to see other girls around us be happy and have something they may not have been able to have without us.”

The Girl Up Club at the school is part of an international network of Girl Up Clubs, established by the United Nations Foundation’s adolescent girl campaign. According to the website, there are more than 1,900 clubs globally.

Senior Alex Celia, who made the pitch to start the Girl Up Club at the school this fall, said part of the reason why she wanted to start the club is because she’s passionate about gender equality. In addition to fundraising for international Girl Up Club focus country initiatives, they also want to raise awareness of gender equality with their peers at the school. “I feel that’s something we don’t talk about in the school community,” said Celia, president of the club.

The Prom Project will be giving out the dresses Saturday, May 5, from noon to 2:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. Students from Somerset, Fall River and area towns who are in need of a dress are welcome to come by between noon and 2:30 p.m. There will be an area to try on the dresses. Related items that were donated such as bags, shoes and jewelry will also be available at the same time.