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Partly Cloudy Ad-dress-ing prom at BHS
Prom is one of the highlights in many students’ high school careers. It’s a chance for the graduating class to dress to the nines and celebrate one final time together. For girls, wearing a colorful, beautiful gown is one of the event’s staples, and a group of Baldwin High School teachers look to ensure that every girl has that opportunity.
About three years ago, Adeline Scibelli, an English as a second language teacher, posted a message on Facebook seeing if anyone had a prom dress they no longer needed and would be willing to donate. That year, she, with the help of other teachers, collected about 25 dresses to distribute to BHS students.
Now, Scibelli, Jana Trazza, Nia Thompson, Meghan Schlosser, Gail Tranoy, Lia Sakelos, Peggy Curnutt and Jess Miller organize the collection, called Project Prom. This year, the teachers have collected more than 100 dresses and have distributed dozens of them over the last few weeks.
“For all of the teachers on the committee, it’s an experience,” Scibelli said of distributing the dresses. “It’s nice to see [the students] so excited.”
The girls get to try on several dresses at BHS before making their decision on which one they will wear to prom.
When Scibelli first started collecting dresses, she reached out to Ronnie Warshaw, owner of Bridal World on Grand Avenue. Warshaw was quickly on board with the idea and has been donating dresses to Project Prom ever since.
Warshaw said she was drawn to Project Prom because of an experience she had months prior. A girl from a neighboring community was named homecoming queen at her high school but could not afford an expensive dress. Warshaw sold her the dress at cost, greatly reducing its price.
“I just thought, ‘Wow, how many other girls can’t afford a dress?’” she said. “It’s such an important moment in high school for these girls.”
The committee works with the school’s social workers and guidance counselors, as well as spreading the word on the morning announcements, to let girls know about the dresses.
$1.99 Pressed Cleaners in Merrick dry-cleans, tailors and provides garment bags at no charge for all the girls.
Now, Scibelli and the other committee members, much like the student body, are looking forward to the prom on June 26. “It’s amazing to see them all dressed up with their hair and makeup,” Scibelli said. “It’s really nice.”
Even though Scibelli never imagined Project Prom would grow into something this large, she’s happy it has.
The committee will go through any left over dresses and keep some for next year and give the rest to similar groups in the area that can distribute the dresses. If a resident has a dress they would like to donate it can be dropped off at BHS.
