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Mostly Cloudy Mepham donates 100 dresses –– and loads of kindness
High school reaches out to NYC girls in need
Black shopping bags overflowing with jeans and dresses filled the office of Theana Cheliotes, Mepham High School’s social worker for the past nine years, on a recent Thursday. Students were hurriedly preparing them to ship to Jamaica, Queens, for donation to the charitable organization 100 Suits for 100 Men.
The nonprofit group normally collects business suits for men who cannot afford interview attire. A major roadblock that many low-income interviewees face is affording commonly accepted dress codes.
The group, however, recently teamed up with Mepham students to collect prom dresses and clothing for teenage girls who have little to nothing of their own, including young women living in homeless shelters. In less than a month, the students gathered more than a hundred prom dresses, many gently used and others brand-new, along with everyday clothing.
Felisa Sternbach, the parent of two Mepham alumni, came up with the idea. Sternbach, who is in business, knew about 100 Suits for 100 Men through the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, which is working to revitalize Jamaica and surrounding sections of Queens. She had heard that many girls from low-income families do not attend their proms because dresses are cost-prohibitive.
Sternbach, of Bellmore, connected with Cheliotes, who advises Mepham’s Key Club, on the dress collection. Sophomore Dylan Morse, 15, designed a flier that was posted in halls throughout the school, and in no time students were rummaging through their home closets, searching for sweet 16 and bat mitzvah dresses that would otherwise go unworn.
“We got such a nice turnout,” said Sternbach, whose daughter Julie is 24 and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, while daughter Allison is 21 and studying at the University of Delaware.
The effort benefitted students at four Jamaica high schools. Dresses were displayed at the Harvest Room reception hall in Jamaica, where girls in need could come to select them. The Wedding Salon of Manhasset and Jim-Jam Drive In Cleaners of North Merrick joined in the effort as well.
