June 26, 2009
By Mary Frances Schjonberg

Girls typically view their high school proms with an equal measure of excitement and nervous anticipation. But for many families, affording the cost of a frothy dress puts prom season beyond reach.

Some Episcopal parishes help teens who otherwise would have trouble affording a prom dress.

The fourth annual Silver Lining Prom Dress Expo, a ministry of St. Paul's Episcopal Church of Fairfield, Connecticut, gave away 400 of the 700 dresses it had available in early April.

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, held "Hope's Chest" giveaways of donated dresses on two Saturdays in April.

Alberta Vargas has run the Silver Lining Expo since the Rev. Mary Anne Osborn, St. Paul's then-associate rector, suggested it in 2006.

She recruited volunteers, whom she dubbed the "salon ladies," from St. Paul's and a women's club. Over time, more civic groups and retailers began donating dresses and accessories.

"It has just blossomed over the last few years," said Vargas, who admitted she never attended a prom when she was in high school.

St. John's Episcopal Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is a major partner in the annual event, donating the use of its ornate parish hall. Vargas said she wanted to hold the expo in a central location "rather than expect girls to have to come out to the ‘burbs."

Some of the girls who come to the expo know exactly what they want, while others have never shopped for such dresses. The only criterion for getting a dress at the expo is, "if you think you need a gown, then you need a gown," Vargas explained.

The expo is "not quite saving the whales or reversing global warming," she said, but it can show high school girls that there are people "who do care about their lives."

Wanda Garrin of St. Barnabas would agree. "It's nice to know that we're the Episcopal Church doing this" and "showing what's in our heart."

When her parish spread the word about its prom dress plans, the members found that there are "really great people in the world," she said. They include a man who listed the event on a recycling website and Boy and Girl Scout troops and members of nearby St. Cecelia's Roman Catholic parish, who donated dresses and accessories.

In all, the parish received at least 600 dresses. "We stopped counting," Garrin said.

When turnout for the first Saturday of the giveaway was low, Garrin said, she prayed the next morning and heard a voice telling her, "It's not about you." When she realized she had to turn her efforts over to God's will, she said, "I was so calm."

She then tried various ways to get out the word about the next Saturday's giveaway and "learned the power of advertising" as the event was mentioned on local radio stations and even more people donated dresses.

There were so many dresses that 80 girls who came to Hope's Chest were invited to take extra dresses for themselves and for friends or relations who couldn't come. It also became clear to Garrin that there were other ways to distribute the dresses.

Other New Jersey organizations came calling for dresses. A Roman Catholic parish in Trenton, New Jersey, for instance, took 70, as did an African Episcopal Methodist church in Eatontown.

A women's shelter in Camden asked for 30 gowns, and a friend of a Newark high school girls track team picked up 15.

In the end, all but 100 dresses found homes. The remainder will be split between schools in Trenton and a ministry serving women in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

– Mary Frances Schjonberg is national correspondent of Episcopal News Service. Churches help prom dreams come true By Mary Frances Schjonberg, June 26, 2009 [Episcopal Life] Girls typically view their high school proms with an equal measure of excitement and nervous anticipation. But for many families, affording the cost of a frothy dress puts prom season beyond reach.

Some Episcopal parishes help teens who otherwise would have trouble affording a prom dress.

The fourth annual Silver Lining Prom Dress Expo, a ministry of St. Paul's Episcopal Church of Fairfield, Connecticut, gave away 400 of the 700 dresses it had available in early April.

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, held "Hope's Chest" giveaways of donated dresses on two Saturdays in April.

Alberta Vargas has run the Silver Lining Expo since the Rev. Mary Anne Osborn, St. Paul's then-associate rector, suggested it in 2006.

She recruited volunteers, whom she dubbed the "salon ladies," from St. Paul's and a women's club. Over time, more civic groups and retailers began donating dresses and accessories.

"It has just blossomed over the last few years," said Vargas, who admitted she never attended a prom when she was in high school.

St. John's Episcopal Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is a major partner in the annual event, donating the use of its ornate parish hall. Vargas said she wanted to hold the expo in a central location "rather than expect girls to have to come out to the ‘burbs."

Some of the girls who come to the expo know exactly what they want, while others have never shopped for such dresses. The only criterion for getting a dress at the expo is, "if you think you need a gown, then you need a gown," Vargas explained.

The expo is "not quite saving the whales or reversing global warming," she said, but it can show high school girls that there are people "who do care about their lives."

Wanda Garrin of St. Barnabas would agree. "It's nice to know that we're the Episcopal Church doing this" and "showing what's in our heart."

When her parish spread the word about its prom dress plans, the members found that there are "really great people in the world," she said. They include a man who listed the event on a recycling website and Boy and Girl Scout troops and members of nearby St. Cecelia's Roman Catholic parish, who donated dresses and accessories.

In all, the parish received at least 600 dresses. "We stopped counting," Garrin said.

When turnout for the first Saturday of the giveaway was low, Garrin said, she prayed the next morning and heard a voice telling her, "It's not about you." When she realized she had to turn her efforts over to God's will, she said, "I was so calm."

She then tried various ways to get out the word about the next Saturday's giveaway and "learned the power of advertising" as the event was mentioned on local radio stations and even more people donated dresses.

There were so many dresses that 80 girls who came to Hope's Chest were invited to take extra dresses for themselves and for friends or relations who couldn't come. It also became clear to Garrin that there were other ways to distribute the dresses.

Other New Jersey organizations came calling for dresses. A Roman Catholic parish in Trenton, New Jersey, for instance, took 70, as did an African Episcopal Methodist church in Eatontown.

A women's shelter in Camden asked for 30 gowns, and a friend of a Newark high school girls track team picked up 15.

In the end, all but 100 dresses found homes. The remainder will be split between schools in Trenton and a ministry serving women in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Episcopal Life
Mary Frances Schjonberg is national correspondent of Episcopal News Service.