Photo Courtesy Lone Star College—CyFair Teen LibraryHigh school students from around the city try on dresses to take home free of charge at Lone Star College—CyFair.
The Lone Star College—CyFair branch library and the Harris County Public Library System are sponsoring the ninth annual Prom Dress Give-Away in March and April with the help of community members. Throughout the year, gently used prom dresses are gathered from students, making them available free of charge for high school students living on a tight budget.
"We are essentially a recycling program that receives no longer needed beautiful dresses, shoes, jewelry and accessories," said Elise Sheppard, LSC teen librarian. "We store them on professional clothing racks in a big closet in the library. Girls come to the closet to try on and take home their selections."
While the Prom Closet initiative began as a collaboration between LSC–CyFair and Cy–Fair ISD counselors and social workers, the program has grown beyond the Cy–Fair community, according to Sheppard.
"The program is so valued by the community that school districts have bussed over their girls and have also run dress drives for us," she said. "So far, we have served girls from not only the public school systems, but also private schools, home schooled students, schools for students with special needs, a school for the blind, group homes for delinquent girls and for those who have been abused, and for church-sponsored young women."
