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LE ROY — A decade’s worth of service, thousands of donations collected, hundreds of hours invested — and for what?
If you peered into the windows of the Hope Center late Saturday morning, you’d find your answer: for all the wide smiles, for all the laughter, of course for the hope, and, yes, even for a few joyful tears that sprang up as young girls posed, spun and twirled in the dresses of their dreams.
Just past the 11 o’clock hour, and little more than 60 minutes into the 10th — and, what could be, final — Operation Prom Dress Giveaway, most makeshift dressing rooms at the 42 Main St. location were full — parents, siblings and friends from across five counties cooing from the outside and asking things like, ‘How does it look?’ and ‘Does it fit?’ as dresses were zipped up, tied and clasped behind thick curtains.
Dozens of girls with their hair in messy buns, and wearing mismatched socks on their feet, stood in line for the alterations table chattering excitedly, or fiddling with the lace and glittery chiffon of the garments they held so tenderly, as they watched a woman work expertly with pins and needles to make adjustments and ensure that everything fit just right.
If you asked them about the best part of the initiative, that, for 10 years had invited hundreds of girls from across western New York to peruse nearly 600 gently used gowns, their answers would vary. But, inevitably, they’d mention their gratitude that every dress came free of charge.
“Oh my God, it’s awesome,” Emily, a senior at Avon High, said of the event. “My one stressor of going to prom was that I’d have to go out and buy an expensive dress for this one-night event, and this takes all that away. It’s very nice.”
Though not typically one for fancy dresses, she said she was pleased with the wide variety of options to choose from, and that, considering her usual tastes, it was exciting to find a few gowns that had potential.
“I didn’t think there’d be so many dresses here — I honestly don’t even know what I’m looking for,” she said. “But my friend, she actually picked one out for me and when I tried it on, it looked pretty good!”
That friend, 18-year-old Lily, could be seen sifting through orange, red and amber gowns a few racks over. Though she went to prom last year and had an “OK time,” she’s far more excited for this year’s event, now that she’s talked Emily into tagging along, she said.
“Yes! I’m excited,” she exclaimed. “Emily would refuse to go to anything, and I said ‘Let’s just go look. See if you can find a dress!’”
Though they each spent a little more time slinking into silky dresses, modeling for one another in the dressing rooms, in the end, Emily decided on the burgundy gown Lily had picked out for her. And that, Lily said, made her feel “so good” to see.
“That dress is so pretty,” Lily crooned. “It looks really good on her.”
And for the more than 20 volunteers who offered their time and expertise up in honor of the event, those satisfied and smiling girls from Avon High just meant the world.
“Considering everything that’s been happening this year, it’s just awesome to see these girls smiling,” a volunteer said. “I hope they don’t cancel the prom!”
She whirled away then, caught up in another consultation with a new teenaged client, but her friend Laurie, a volunteer from Living Waters Church, was happy to gush about the success the event had brought thus far, even amidst cancellations for public events and uncertainty regarding prom season.
“At the beginning, I did think it was going to be a light crew,” Laurie said. “But then all of a sudden they flooded in — there was a lot of people here at one time.”
She had spent her morning helping and encouraging girls as best she knew how, and couldn’t help but marvel at the magic when girls found “the dress, you know, the one that makes their eyes pop.”
Event founder Val Moore, busy coordinating volunteers and keeping the environment clean and tidy, shared in that delight during a brief lull in business later on.
“Oh, it just means the world to me to be able to help those in need,” she said. “It’s been such a blessing to see the girls leave with smiles on their faces and to hear parents who make comments like today. They say, ‘You’re not only helping my daughter, you’re helping me. We’re in a tough situation and this means more than you’ll ever know.’ Of course that brings tears to your eyes.”
It was in that way that Saturday, especially, proved bittersweet.
“It’s definitely going to be very hard to not do it again,” Moore admitted. “I’m just hoping that somebody will have the heart and desire that I had and just grow it even bigger than what I’ve been able to do.”
That will, she said, “take lots and lots — and I mean lots — of volunteers” who can assist with everything from screening donations to ensure they’re neither stained nor ripped nor torn to setting up dressing rooms and sorting gowns by size ahead of the event
“There’s a lot of work that goes into making this possible,” she said. “I don’t want this event to end, but I do want it to get bigger — double the amount of dresses, a larger space to host. We just want it to grow, we really do.”
If there are any individuals or organizations who may be interested in taking over the event and continuing its legacy, they are strongly encouraged to contact the Hope Center at (585) 768-8184 or at info@hopecenterleroy.org to learn more, Moore said.
And though she and husband Pastor Henry Moore are ever hopeful that this event will not prove the last for area girls, they did acknowledge that no matter what the end result, “it’s been a journey, and it’s truly been a blessing.”
“We are so grateful and so thankful for all the volunteers through the years, and all those who donated their time and resources,” Moore said. “It just couldn’t be done without them, and we can’t thank them enough.”
If all goes well, and the event continues on, will they still be seen in the shadows, helping where they can?
“Oh probably,” Val chuckled. She just doesn’t think she could stay away.
https://www.thedailynewsonline.com/bdn01/legacy-of-hope-operation-prom-dress-giveaay-marks-its-final-year-20200317
2020-03-17 13:38:00Z
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