The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Prom dreams come true with free gown giveaway

About 200 girls attend 3rd annual extravaganza

Molly Brooks, a junior at Kenton Ridge High School, walks back to the dressing rooms after finding her perfect prom dress – a gown valued at more than $900 – at Springfield Masonic Community's Prom Extravaganza event Saturday, March 20, during which area girls could pick out a free dress for spring formals. This was the third year Brooks has come to the event with her grandmother, Debbie Wehrs, who calls it a

Barbara J. Perenic Molly Brooks, a junior at Kenton Ridge High School, walks back to the dressing rooms after finding her perfect prom dress – a gown valued at more than $900 – at Springfield Masonic Community's Prom Extravaganza event Saturday, March 20, during which area girls could pick out a free dress for spring formals. This was the third year Brooks has come to the event with her grandmother, Debbie Wehrs, who calls it a "Nana and granddaughter" tradition. Staff photos by Barbara J. Perenic

ENLARGE PHOTO

Home schooled students (from left) Ellie Sutter, Jessica Koehler and Julia Koehler look over their choices at the Springfield Masonic Community's Prom Extravaganza.

Barbara J. Perenic Home schooled students (from left) Ellie Sutter, Jessica Koehler and Julia Koehler look over their choices at the Springfield Masonic Community's Prom Extravaganza.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Photos: Prom Extravaganza

Bishops: New birth control rule ‘a first step’
2/11/12
Police headlines for Feb. 11
2/11/12
Local Focus: Clark County for Feb. 11
2/11/12
Local Focus: Champaign County for Feb. 11
2/11/12
Cold, wind to keep roads slick today
2/11/12
> More headlines

By Megan Gildow, Staff Writer Updated 12:47 AM Sunday, March 21, 2010

Minutes after finding an off-white strapless ball gown adorned with delicate beading in just the right size, Kenton Ridge High School junior Molly Brooks hugged her grandmother Debbie Wehrs, the woman who has helped her choose a dress for prom each of the last three years.

“It’s like a Nana and granddaughter thing,” said Wehrs. “We make a day out of it, she gets her nails done and her hair done.”

Each year, the dress-hunting duo have been among the first to arrive at Springfield Masonic Community’s Prom Extravaganza, where this year nearly 700 gowns were available for local girls to choose from free of charge for spring formals, said Nita Wilkinson, director of marketing.

The dresses hung, arranged by size, in a rainbow of colors — from pastels to bright jewel tones to classic black — Saturday morning, March 20, waiting for the nearly 200 girls estimated to attend the third annual event.

“We get donations throughout the year, people donate all the time,” said Wilkinson. “It’s such a great thing, and the community has been so gracious in their support for this event all year round.”

There’s just one requirement: Girls who select a dress have to model the frock for the home’s residents, who are quick to tell the young women how beautiful they look.

Wehrs said that the event is helpful for families who in a harsh economy may have difficulty affording a formal dress that a girl will wear for only a few hours.

Costs for prom can add up “really quick,” and the Prom Extravaganza helps relieve some of the price, said Amber McDevitt, a student at Northwestern High School.

“It’s pretty dresses, and they are free,” she said. “I just wanted a poofy dress – and I got one.”

McDevitt said she would recommend the event to friends. Brooks already knows three girls she plans to send the Masonic Home’s way in the future.

“I really hope they keep doing this until all my sisters are in high school,” she said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0373 or mgildow@coxohio.com.

Share this article