This UMTV encore video was produced in 2005.
It is prom season for high school students. But dressing for the big dance can be expensive – more than many families can afford. One church has come up with a solution to that problem, so students don’t have to miss that special night.
Locator: Winston Salem, North Carolina
It’s a place with more prom dresses than many clothing stores.
Shopper: “These are beautiful, all of them are.”
The only thing missing is a cash register.
Volunteer: “Beautiful smile. You look gorgeous.”
Union Ridge United Methodist Church in Winston Salem, North Carolina helps make Cinderella dreams come true on prom night.
The Rev. Cathy Davis / Union Ridge United Methodist Church: “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment for many of our youth. And I think it’s something that they look forward to from the time they are little, especially the girls.”
In a town hard-hit by factory layoffs, church members collect, repair and clean prom dresses … then give them away.
Leslie Mickle / High School Student: “Without this program, I probably wouldn’t go to the prom. Because dresses are too expensive and you can’t find your size and you can’t usually find something that you like.”
The pastor’s daughter came up with the idea three years ago when many of her classmates couldn’t afford new dresses just to wear one night to the prom.
Shannon Davis / Pastor’s Daughter: “I don’t think that girls should miss out or anybody should miss out because they can’t afford to go. That’s not fair.”
More than 300 dresses are now on the racks. The third floor of the church has been converted to shopping areas and fitting rooms.
Volunteer: “You have a very special dress, you really do.”
Parents say the free prom dresses save them hundreds of dollars and give something back to the community. And students don’t miss a special night.
Lisa Mickle / High School Student: “It’s like a dream come true. It’s like you’re a queen that night. You get treated like a princess.”
So thanks to the church’s efforts, the best dressed at this year’s prom may also be the “blessed dressed.”
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The program is called the Blessed Dressed ministry. To contact Union Ridge United Methodist Church, call (336) 788-2672.
This video was produced by United Methodist Communications in Nashville, TN.
Media contact is Fran Walsh, 615-742-5458.
This video was first posted on April 15, 2005.
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