PROM DRESS COLLECTION AND GIVEAWAY

As we wrap up our 11th year of Chip In’s annual Prom Dress Give A Way, we have been reflecting on how far we have come over the years. We started this vision with a simple prom dress collection rack and try on at Zano’s hair salon and grew to a larger space at the Congregational Church of Batavia. The initial mission was to provide for just Batavia High School students on free/reduced lunch. Flash forward, and thanks to so many generous donors, an exceptional partner in The Batavia Public Library, and a team of incredible volunteers we were able to offer the following inventory this year:

• 775 Long prom dress gowns many new, many dry cleaned

• 443 Short, fancy dresses which were also offered to Rotolo students for their 8th grade dinner dance and to older students needing a graduation dress or dress for next years’ homecoming.

• Over 200 pairs of dressy shoes

• Multiple tables of jewelry, and make-up

• Wraps, hair accessories and purses

Note: 472 total dresses went out the door!

You are so generous!

Years ago, the abundance of donations and generosity suggested we had the ability to share outside our own community. This year we hosted students from 44 schools, drawing from as far away as Chicago, Rockdale, Minooka, and Homewood Flossmoor.

We were able to dress 20 girls who live at Mooseheart, provide a wedding dress for a young homeless Mom who is well on her way to a brighter future, and even her little girl found a tiny white dress for the wedding. One young lady came to the desk to pay at check out and when told the dress was free, she could not believe it and literally bowed repeatedly to the volunteers.

As we reached the final hours of our give a way we still had a surplus so we invited the girls to take 2 gowns. One mom was so happy for her daughter (who could not decide between two) that she teared up and threw her arms around the volunteer that was helping her. Another mom, battling cancer said that with all her treatment expenses, she simply would not be able to afford such a stunning dress and make her daughter so happy. And finally, this was the year for Dad’s to shop with their girls! There were so many! When complimenting one on his bravery, Dad just smiled and his daughter turned to us and said “well he IS my best friend.”

Yes, we still had unclaimed dresses and we filled wardrobe boxes to be stored for next year in our unit donated by In Towne Storage and BEI. We also provided Aurora East High School with approximately 60 dresses for students who were not able to attend our event and Batavia Clothes Closet came and collected 37 for their organization. 25 more maternal looking dresses went to Open Door in Sandwich, a senior center, for their adult prom while another 57 went to other service organizations, We are so happy to be able to share the wealth!

We simply could not do this without the vast number of volunteers who worked on this event event, the team of men who set up and took down our 14 portable dressing rooms, the team who picked up many boxes and changing room frames from storage, and the 6 incredible seamstresses who did onsite alterations for hours, at no charge, out of the kindness of their hearts. We also thank the Batavia School District that stores, delivers, assembles and disassembles our clothing racks, and the leadership of Batavia Football who brought us 10 strong young men, the BPS box truck and Matt Holm, to load up everything at the library and return it to our storage unit.

We do not have enough words for our Batavia Public Library staff, especially Kathy Moecher, Kristen Zambo, Misty Jump and the ever smiling Felix Pineda. They collect dresses beginning February 1st, and had a daily “to do” list related to this project through March 10th. They help us set up, clean up after us and are incredibly accommodating. We could never find another partner like this one. And thank you Flyleaf for the delicious tea, coffee, sweets and lunches for our volunteers!

We feel so blessed and honored to work with every one of the people who make this event possible. The greatest reward is seeing the happy students who will feel so good about themselves at their special events. Financial obstacles not an issue and lots of fun picking the perfect dream dress.

Thank you!

Joanne and Melinda

As our longtime partner, the Batavia Public Library will host the CHIP IN Batavia Prom Dress collection drive and giveaway event. Clean prom dresses in good to excellent condition, as well as shoes, purses, jewelry and accessories may be dropped off at the Library Check Out Desk. Donations also may include wraps, hair items and new makeup.

Donations can be dropped off between Thursday, Feb. 1, and Friday, March 8, at the Batavia Public Library, 10 S. Batavia Ave. Any monetary donations will be used to help pay for tuxedo rentals and prom tickets for Batavia students. Checks should be made payable to Batavia Foundation for Educational Excellence, with “CHIP IN Batavia” in the memo.

The Batavia Public Library is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Dress racks for drop off will be available near the Check Out Desk. Tax donation letters will be available at the Check Out Desk. Please contact the Library at 630-879-1393 for more information.

In 2023, CHIP IN provided 830 dresses to 42 schools and four charities. Hundreds of dresses and accessories will be available again this year to any high school student from any school.

We encourage students to come with friends or family. It is a lot of fun and the dresses are gorgeous.