Local shop collecting prom dresses for annual 'Dress it Forward' event

ASSUMPTION, Ill. (WAND) — Grey House Goods in Assumption is preparing for their annual Dress It Forward event.

The event is a way to give back to the community while allowing girls to have a memorable experience shopping for a prom dress without breaking the bank.

Owner Grace Snively reached out to the local community to find out if they had prom dresses sitting in the closet that they would like to donate and was met with eager volunteers that were willing to donate and pitch in to make the event possible.

"We started dress it forward 3 years ago because I felt like it was a need in the community for a place that people could go and have a full prom dress shopping experience, but ultimately the dresses would be free." said Snively.

There are over 100 dresses that have been donated for girls to try on and wear to the big dance. Shoppers will be able to browse the dresses and get suggestions from volunteers working the event.

Snively wants these girls to have the full boutique experience, without the high price tags.

"I think working in the fashion industry there is always kind of this innate pressure to spend more or have the latest trends and I think providing something like this in our community really fills in that gap for somebody who maybe doesn't have the funds to go and get the most expensive dress."

To at the event on March 3rd, you need to have a reservation. You can make your appointment by reaching out to Grey House Goods, following their social media pages, and on their website.

They will be adding more time slots in necessary, but it is expected to be a busy day that Snively says would not be possible without the help of volunteers helping every step of the way from set up to tear down.

"Then on Sunday we will have a team of people assisting as people shop for the dresses and then another team that comes and helps me tear it all down. These are all people just in the community that are aware of my store and have connected to what I do here."

While the dresses come at no cost to shoppers’ donations are happily accepted. The donations make it possible to give back to the local communities in more ways than one.

"This event kind of has a twofold part to it which I really like as people pick out the dresses if they want to give a donation they can and we have had donations from $5 to people just really loving what we are doing and they hand over a hundred dollars and then that money goes towards a trade school scholarship or work force aide scholarship that we give to somebody local in May."

Providing an affordable and one-of-a-kind experience to help girls find their dream dress for a night they will never forget, while also contributing to the future of graduating seniors, the Dress It Forward Event has made a huge impact on the Assumption community.

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