By Dulce Soza
Staff Writer
Prom is a special night where every teen girl can play out their own fairytale with pretty dresses and cute dates. The memories that are made on prom are some that will stay with everyone forever. Unfortunately, there are some who are unable to bring their dream to life because of their limited opportunities at hand. That is why at NTCC the Communities in Schools program has come up with a day where high school girls planning on attending prom 2023 can come and get an opportunity to pick out a dress for their special night.
The CIS program gathers donated dresses and invites girls from different schools from around the community, where they can pick out different dresses and even get to try them on before choosing the one that feels right to them. ¡°Prom is such a big event for juniors and seniors and dresses are expensive. They can break the bank sometimes, especially for a senior with everything else they have going on. It¡¯s just a way for us to help alleviate some of the financial burden.¡± said CIS executive director, Melody Henry.
When asked about what she believes it means for the young women to have this opportunity Tristein Davis said, ¡°Everything! A lot of our girls come from very low income families and just giving them one opportunity is just meaningful and helpful. It¡¯s something that they can look back on years from now and say wow that was such a great day or wow I look great in this picture. Just having a moment that is solely for them to build their confidence and know they’re surrounded by women’s support.¡± Having this Cinderella moment is something that most young women look forward to from the moment they start high school and the CIS program is their very own fairy godmother, except they don’t get a curfew- except maybe from the parents.
In the previous years this event was held at Jos coffee in Mount Pleasants downtown, yet this year, the event was to be located in the CIS office, but since it had become a bigger event with more participants, it was moved to the Whatley at NTCC. Given that this opportunity is not easily given everywhere, NTCC is grateful to be allowed the chance to give, especially at this magnitude.