EDMONTON – Hundreds of young women in need will look like princesses on their graduation thanks to the generosity of strangers.
The Alberta Strong Grad Dress Project started as a post on a Spruce Grove buy and sell website.
Taylor-Deanne Williams’ request was simple: “I have this grad dress and I have $500 in a change jar and I’d like to give a girl a grad experience.”
Instead of getting responses from girls wanting to take her up on her offer, she was contacted by hundreds of women who wanted to donate their dresses too.
In seven weeks, her goal of helping one graduate ballooned into helping 300.
“There is no eligibility factor,” said Williams. “We wanted to make this as barrier free for girls as possible. So basically, if a girl is graduating this year, is in grade 12 and needs a dress, then she is eligible to receive one.”
The donated dresses were on display at Sculpt Barre in Spruce Grove Saturday, just waiting to be tried on. Williams and her volunteers played fairy-godmother as the girls walked through the doors.
“I’m hoping for every girl here to find the dress of her dreams.”
Sprue Grove Outreach student Topeka Skrepnyk’s face lit up when she saw all the dresses.
“I was astonished. I have never seen so many beautiful dresses in one room in my life. And I get to choose any one of them. It’s exciting,” said Skrepnyk.
She wasted no time finding the perfect dress – a deep purple one with a beaded bodice and detailed pick-ups on the skirt.
“I love this dress, it’s very light and it’s comfortable. It just works!”
Melissa Moiah was trying on dresses in the next change-room. Her teachers from Heinsburg Community School drove the grade 12 student three and a half hours from Frog Lake to get pampered Saturday.
“I was just kind of in shock from all of it,” Moiah laughed. “It’s pretty amazing what these people do.”
When she came out of the dressing-room with a light pink and purple beaded gown on, her teacher broke down in tears.
“I cried,” said Brenda Paulo-Begg, who has taught Moiah since grade 4. “It was just like seeing my daughter.”
She said it was important to bring Moiah to Edmonton to get decked out for her graduation because her family is struggling.
“In Alberta right now, the money is not there. It’s not just going to help out Melissa, it’s going to help out many.”
The girls weren’t just given dresses, strangers got together to donate all kinds of items.
“Shoes, dresses, purses, jewelry, cash donations, services like hair, nails and make up,” explained Williams.
The generosity won’t soon be forgotten by the graduates.
“It warms my heart that there’s so many kind people in this community that are willing to help people find the right grad dress and live their fairy-tale grad,” said Skrepnyk.
The Alberta Strong Grad Dress Project is no longer accepting donations, though clothes can be passed on to the Onoway Grad Fair, Cinderella’s Closet or Suit Yourself.
Soon-to-be graduates looking for dresses can make an appointment at Sculpt Barre in Spruce Grove to try on some gowns.
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