On April 13-15, the Woman’s Club of Evanston was reworked right into a no-price prom boutique for Chicagoland highschool college students.
With racks full of clothes in sizes starting from zero to 23, along with sneakers, jewellery and night purses, the ballroom and predominant flooring of the membership had been buzzing. The occasion, referred to as Dreams Delivered, is a signature occasion hosted by the Woman’s Club and the Ivy Pearl Foundation in collaboration with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Delta Chi Omega Chapter.
“Our involvement in delivering dreams through initiatives like Dreams Delivered is truly impactful,” stated Stella Salisu Hickman, Ivy Pearl Foundation president. “Our foundation member Pamela Akins-Schanette’s dedication to supporting youth in Evanston, along with the partnership with the Woman’s Club of Evanston, underscores the importance of collaboration in creating meaningful change. Together, we’re not only providing dresses and accessories, we’re offering young people a sense of inclusivity and empowerment, ensuring that prom night becomes a cherished memory for all involved.”
The historical past
The first Dreams Delivered boutique was held in 2007 and served 40 college students from Evanston Township High School. This yr’s occasion supplied full prom wardrobes for greater than 100 college students from as distant as Oak Park and Waukegan. Evanston seniors are given precedence signup.
How it really works
The sponsoring organizations collectively publicized the occasion to group members, and in February and March, native companies in Evanston served as drop-off areas for brand spanking new or shut-to-new clothes. Donations had been additionally solicited to assist complement the boutique with sneakers and equipment.
“We are given a budget by the club to buy the items we need and food for the students to enjoy before they shop. We also provide a lunch to the students who help us by modeling the dresses to promote the event at ETHS’s senior assembly,” occasion chair Erin Booker stated. “This year we did an ‘Adopt-A-Shoe’ fundraiser which raised $1,000 to help us restock the shoe supply.” Kenny the Kleener assisted in dry cleansing a whole bunch of clothes free of cost, and Booker stated that Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) was additionally very beneficiant with its reductions.
The boutique options on-development clothes in all types, materials and colours, the bulk of that are flooring-size robes. “We have a very diverse mix of clients, including transgender students,” Booker stated. “We also have a select number of short dresses for students to take, in addition to a long dress, if they want.”
In March, appointment instances had been made accessible on a primary-come, first-served foundation. “We collaborate with ETHS and hold spaces until after their senior assembly,” Booker defined. “Once they have claimed all of the spaces that they want, we open it to the community.” She added that they promote to the broader group by way of social media teams, together with dwelling faculty organizations.
Starting Friday, April 12, a military of volunteers arrived on the Woman’s Club to construct the “store,” with helpers constructing gown racks and becoming rooms. The boutique was open from three to eight p.m. for 3 days. For college students who couldn’t make that point window, alternate instances had been made accessible.
A customized expertise
Each highschool pupil is assigned a private shopper to navigate the expertise and assist put collectively the right look. The majority of the greater than 100 volunteer private buyers are Woman’s Club or Ivy Pearl Foundation and Alpha Kappa Alpha members.
Unclaimed clothes are stored in storage till subsequent yr. However, Booker defined that they tag clothes with the yr they had been collected. Once the clothes are a couple of years outdated, they’re donated or bought at consignment outlets.
Kelly Terrell is a member of Woman’s Club of Evanston and the Ivy Pearl Foundation. She first turned conscious of Dreams Delivered in 2010 when her oldest daughter (who was a senior on the time) requested her to take some of her buddies to an occasion to get a free gown.
“I had no idea what Dreams Delivered was until I walked into the Woman’s Club,” Terrell recalled. “It was ‘AWE’ at first sight. When the time was right, in 2017 I joined the club and have been on the Dreams Delivered committee since then.”
She’s additionally a proud mother of a 2024 ETHS graduate, Minerva Daniels Terrell, who’s graduating this yr and got here to the boutique for a gown, making it a “full circle moment” as Terrell described.
“I was nervous at first, but my aunt [Linda Daniels] and my mom are members of the club, and my aunt was my personal shopper,” daughter Minerva stated, including, “It was a supportive environment. It was cool.”
“This was a joyful family affair!” Terrell stated.
Erin Johnson works as a communications coordinator for the Center for Talent Development, is a Delta Chi Omega member and an Evanston resident who volunteered as a private shopper this yr. She stated she had participated in the same occasion when she was in school and actually loved the expertise.
“I’ve been wanting to do an event like that one again, and the opportunity presented itself, so I jumped on the chance,” Johnson stated.
“Dreams Delivered is a worthy cause because it meets the needs of students who want to participate in one of the most memorable events of their lives, which is prom,” she stated. “Everyone should be able to experience that and feel great about it, and thankfully, Dreams Delivered helps students to do that.”
She added that she was significantly impressed with how lovely the boutique was and regardless of rain, the scholars and their mother and father had been excited to take part.
“The boutique was gorgeous and both of the students that I helped found their prom dresses and accessories!” Johnson stated. “I loved that there were so many options for the students to choose from. It was overwhelming but in a good way.”