Join high school senior Ciara Ham on her quest to find the perfect dress for her final prom. From one prom to another we follow a gown on its journey to making prom possible to girls who once thought otherwise. Ciara is one of thousands of high school girls lucky enough to take part in the experience that is Belle of the Ball. Finding her dream dress may not have been possible had it not been for all the volunteers and donations from students just like her.
Ciara was nominated by her guidance counselor to take part in this year’s Belle of the Ball Boutique day. Being chosen made her senior prom possible, as her dress, shoes, accessories, and makeup would be provided by generous donations made by Belle of the Ball. When she arrived that day she was nervous, but full of enthusiasm and was warmly greeted by her stylists. She hesitantly entered the gymnasium of Simmon’s College where she faced hundreds of dresses in every different style, size, and color she could imagine. Surrounding the dresses were tables stacked full of jewelry, handbags, shoes, and makeup goodie bags. Ciara began searching the racks for her perfect dress. With the help of her stylists and friends from school she narrowed it down to six dresses and headed down to the dressing rooms.
After much deliberation, Ciara found the perfect fit and finally began to feel like a princess. She said, “It was the most comfortable and it was the one I liked the best.” She headed upstairs to complete her look. First stop was shoes, next was jewelry, and then was the clutch. From head to toe Ciara truly began to admire the experience feeling more confident and grateful every step of the way. On top of looking the part, she got to spend even more time in the spotlight with a photoshoot of her final pre-prom look. With a smile spread across her face, Ciara said “It was like I was a star.” Her final stop was to grab the prepackaged makeup goodie bag and her day at Belle of the Ball was complete. Along the way we learned the true impact this day had on her and her family. She mentioned that it was extremely helpful financially and “made prom more affordable and easier” since everything she needed for the night was all in one place.
An event such as Belle of the Ball doesn’t come together overnight. Months of planning, organizing, collecting dress donations, and fundraising for shoes and accessories goes into just one boutique day. Endicott College is just one of many schools that collects dress donations to be a small part of making a girl’s prom special. Director of Community Service at Endicott, Lauri Rawls said that “If we can be a little help of it I’m happy.” Each year Endicott collects dresses and the amount they receive varies. Rawls said, “this year I think we collected about seven”. Once the donations are collected they are dropped off at Anton’s where they clean the dresses and are then dropped off with the rest at the Belle of the Ball.
Anton’s Cleaners is on their twelfth year of collecting dresses and cleaning them so that they are ready for the Belle of the Ball. Anton has been there collecting dresses since day one of the entire organization, he said, “it just grew organically, we got pocketbooks and shoes that they needed to make a complete outfit, it started off slow and it grew”. Once the dresses are clean they pick the best ones and load them onto trucks then onto rolling racks that they roll up stairs at the event. Anton’s started an organization called caring partners to fundraise for the extra things to complete the outfit such as the clutches, jewelry, and shoes. They also buy shoes and accessories off season when they are on sale. Anton said, “it is always the most rewarding part for me seeing the girl who is a little quiet, shy, and nervous but by the end of the experience they have their picture taken, posing and looking confident and loving the dress”.
Overall the Belle of the Ball was a great experience for the girls, volunteers, and everyone involved in the organization. Anton’s cleaners role had a huge part within the event since they cleaned and collected the dresses to deliver to the event. Their role is also important since they have a fundraiser that helps with the purchasing of accessories to complete the prom look. Watching Ciara go through this experience was heartwarming and exciting not only for her but for everyone around her.
