Press release:
SEVENTH ANNUAL iHEART MEDIA / EBLEN CHARITIES OPERATION PROM DRESS
SET FOR SATURDAY APRIL 9TH(Asheville, NC) On Saturday, April 9, hundreds of prom dresses will again fill the racks at the former Hamricks Department Store in the Westgate Shopping Center, now the site of the Ingles Toy Store, to help provide formal wear to hundreds of girls who may not be able to afford the cost of a dress and would otherwise miss the most anticipated evenings of the school year.
Operation Prom Dress will open its doors from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday and will supply prom dresses to any young lady in need of one at no cost to helps provide the memories that so many of their friends will be experiencing. The remaining dresses will be kept at the Eblen Charities Waddell Client Service Center office at Westgate for anyone who may miss the event.
Since its inception, hundreds of girls who may have not had the chance to go to the prom have chosen from hundreds upon hundreds of gently used and new dresses. Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of people throughout our community, iHeart Media, 99.9 Kiss Country, Star 104.3, Asheville Cleaners and Mitchell’s Tuxedos, a great many of the girls who thought they may be at sitting at home will now be joining their friends and classmates on prom night.
“The prom dresses make a huge difference,” says Sharon Fish, graduation specialist for Buncombe County Schools. “Some of these girls may be parents, who are working to support a child. The prom may otherwise be out of reach financially without this program.”
“When we walk into the Ingles Toy Store location at Westgate, and they see the vast selection, you can see their faces light up. It becomes a reality that just for that one special night they can be Cinderella at the ball and it doesn’t cost them anything,” Fish adds.
If you know of any young lady in need of a prom dress, or have one you would like to donate, please contact Susan Riddle at Eblen Charities at (828) 255-3066, ext. 21 or via email at sriddle@eblencharities.org.
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