GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Grand Rapids students are getting ready for prom without having to worry about the cost of a formal gown. The Grand Rapids Public School Foundation (GRPSF) teamed up with a bridal shop and college sororities to bring more than 350 dresses to students for free.

“It’s really important for us to break down this barrier and see girls have their high school experience enriched,” said Olivia Marquez, GRPSF administration and database coordinator.

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The program kicked off last fall with an anonymous donation of 200 formal dresses for homecoming. “The girls loved it,” Marquez recalled. “They found a huge increase of participation at their homecoming dance. That was just the cherry on top for us. We were for sure gonna keep going.” She said coordinating the program and helping students enjoy their high school experience has become her favorite part of her job.

Ottawa Hills Senior Celesce Coleman, who helped distribute the dresses, was excited to help other students. “When the girls feel like they’re beautiful in the dress, it makes me feel happy because I helped them with that look,” she said. This fall, she’ll be studying fashion design at Western Michigan University.

“We didn’t recognize this was such a big barrier for girls to go into the dance,” Marquez said. “You have your dress, your shoes. You gotta get your hair done, your makeup done. Then you have dinner, pictures, that’s a lot of stuff. It can really rack up especially now that dresses are getting even more expensive.”

The program is complete for this year, but GRPSF is hoping to repeat and expand the initiative over the coming years.