Operation Prom Dress 2011

Calling All Bridesmaids and Party Girls!

Do you have a cute party or bridesmaid dress in your closet you'll never wear again? Did you know you can donate new or gently used special occasion gowns (bridesmaid, prom, holiday) to Operation Prom Dress 2011 to help local high school youth be able to attend their prom in a donated dress?

In 2010 Operation Prom Dress collected 800 gowns! Four hundred were given to attendees for their 2010 proms. Two hundred that were more theatrical or perhaps outdated styles were donated to school groups for musical theater costumes and the remaining 200 were saved to be distributed this year.

On top of that two hundred gowns in 2010 were cleaned for free by local dry cleaners who sponsored their services to help move the project along.

Last year a few make up and hair salons also sponsored their services to some of the prom attendees. This year it would be great if more hair stylists and make up artists would like to donate their services to help the attendees have a complete prom experience. Most proms run between late April and the month of May. At this time the dates have not been determined but if you're a make up artist or hair stylist who would like to donate your services, whether for one girl or an afternoon of services for several, please contact Lan Thao Nguyen (Council Assistant to Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen)  at 408-535-4959 and let her know. She'll keep you posted as the prom dates become available.

I'm hoping some wedding professionals might jump on board and donate their services.

Have a bulletin board at work? You can download and print this flyer to help let people know about this great program: CLICK HERE to Download Flyer

Today my wedding industry colleague Elisheva Basseri from A Bride's Best Friend posted about Operation Prom Dress on her Facebook page so I wanted to share it with all of you. The following San Jose, California libraries and community centers are where you can drop off gown donations until April 4, 2011. After the gowns are collected they are all brought to one location and all of the prom attendees who need a gown come on the same day and have the opportunity to select several gowns to try on and can choose one for their prom night.

LIBRARIES

• Almaden Library, 6445 Camden Ave. SJ, CA 95120
• Alviso Library, 5050 N. 1st St. SJ, CA 95002
• Berryessa Library, 3355 Noble Ave. SJ, CA 95132
• Cambrian Library, 1780 Hillsdale Ave. SJ, CA 95124
• Dr. Roberto Cruz Alum Rock Library, 3090 Alum Rock Ave. SJ, CA 95127
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, 150 E. San Fernando St. SJ, CA 95112
• Edenvale Library, 101 Branham Lane East, SJ, CA 95111
• Evergreen Library, 2635 Aborn Rd. SJ, CA 95121
• Rose Garden, 1580 Naglee Av. SJ, CA 95126
• Santa Teresa Library, 290 International Cr. SJ, CA 95119
• Tully Library, 880 Tully Rd. SJ, CA 95111
• Vineland Library, 1450 Blossom Hill Rd. SJ, CA 95118
• West Valley Library, 1243 San Tomas Aquino Rd. v, CA 95117
• Willow Glen Library, 1157 Minnesota Ave. S SJ, CA 95125

COMMUNITY CENTERS

• Evergreen Community Center, 4860 San Felipe Rd. SJ, CA 95135
• Roosevelt Community Center, 901 E. Santa Clara St. SJ, CA 95116
• Seven Trees Community Center, 3590 Cas Dr. SJ, CA 95111
• Southside Community Center, 5585 Cottle Rd. SJ, CA 95123
• West SJ Community and Policing Center, 3707 Williams Rd. SJ, CA 95117
• Willow Glen Community Center, 2175 Lincoln Ave. SJ, CA 95125

My thanks to Lan Thao Nguyen for sharing details about this event with me. For more information you can contact Lan at (408) 535-4959.