Homecoming Dress Drop event a success – another planned for prom season
By Jessica Brown
Donated homecoming dresses were dropped off and repurposed the first Sunday of September in Winchester.
The first annual Dress Drop consisted of collecting donated homecoming dresses from community members and donating them to girls from grades 9-12, free of charge.
The brainchild of Winchester Grade School teachers Amy Sutton and Rheanna Lawson, the event was meant to offer students of all backgrounds the opportunity to feel beautiful on the magical night.
Both women teach special education, with Sutton teaching kindergarten through third grade and Lawson teaching at the junior high level.
The event was sponsored by the Scott County Health Department, which funds the Teen Reach program that Sutton and Lawson created together. In its second year, the program aims to offer a positive environment for students after school. Free to Winchester students, the biggest focus is tutoring and it is available for grades 5-12.
The idea for the Dress Drop event came after an experience Sutton had while attempting to sell a few of her daughter’s previous dresses. “I took her dresses to a resale store and I was offered $5 for each dress and I knew the store was going to sell for much more,” she says. “I said, no thank you!”
That is what sparked the idea of having a dress swap of sorts, she says. “That way, girls could come and get a donated dress that fit them perfectly.” Students that participated were offered snacks and a chance to win door prizes, including a chance to win a hair and nail appointment, a Buffalo Wild Wings gift card, flowers or a corsage.
Sutton states that spending high prices for a dress that a girl may only wear one time is unnecessary and even something that might be unattainable.
“No one should have to choose between a dress they feel beautiful in or getting groceries,” she explains. “No parent should ever have to tell their daughters they can’t get a dress because the family can’t afford it.” The two women reiterate that dress resale shops’ tendency to upsell gently used dresses is all the more reason to donate them. Girls are even welcome to choose a homecoming and prom dress at the Dress Drop event and if they decide to bring them back, it’s allowed, according to Sutton and Lawson.
Participants attended the event in a space above the Rural Cyclery in Winchester, where a dressing room could be provided. The store lent the space normally used as an Airbnb for the event. “We like to support local businesses and after looking at a few spots, we decided it would be the best because it had a place for the girls to change,” Lawson explains.
There is no limit on the amount of dresses that can be donated, either. “If a person wants to donate a dress at any time, people can either drop them off or I will be happy to pick it up,” Suttons says. “We don’t want the donations to stop and we’ll take dresses any time of the year.”
Although the first Dress Drop was open to Scott County residents only, both women have their sight set on expanding. “We’d eventually like to include surrounding counties and schools,” Lawson shares.
They share that a tentative event is in the works for February, this time for prom dresses, although it may have to be in a different location as the recent one required participants to use a staircase. “Stairs would be tough,” the two joke. “Prom dresses can be heavy!”
To donate gently used homecoming or prom dresses, contact Amy Sutton at 217-577-4499.
