Lucy Falso and Sofie Brutseart
Staff Writers
This prom and ball season, the Jamesville-DeWitt High School dress drive is back again with free dress options for juniors and seniors preparing to attend the school formal dances.
Junior Prom and Senior Ball are both momentous and important events for many students who choose to attend, but anyone going knows that formal dresses can be extremely expensive. That’s why physical education teacher Cara Goldberg runs a drive to make dresses available to students who don’t want, or are unable to pay, for a costly outfit themselves. “There’s a lot of people who don’t want to go spend $500 on a prom dress to wear once,” said Ms. Goldberg. “People ask about it every single year.”
Ms. Goldberg has run the drive for about 10 years. Before her, guidance counselor Will Hartley was in charge, but she decided to take on the responsibility.
Ms. Goldberg’s dress donations come from a variety of sources. Some come from former students or seniors who donate the dresses they have already worn to the prom or ball. Some come from friends or acquaintances. She also has a connection with a store called New York Bride, where she gets some dresses. The dress collection currently has about 200 dresses, and most are what’s in style this year. Already this year she has given away seven or eight dresses but plenty are left. “It will probably get more busy as the season comes to a close,” said Ms. Goldberg.
Students interested in finding a dress can find Ms. Goldberg during free periods or lunches to arrange a time to look at the choices. Any dress donations are private and stay between Ms. Goldberg and the student. Any students or teachers with old prom or ball dresses lying around are always invited to donate to the growing collection.
School dances are about having fun and making memories and Ms. Goldberg wants her drive to ensure that happens.
