A prom pop-up shop at Newmarket High School is making sure every girl in York Region has something to wear to prom and graduation this year.
The school is hosting the pop-up shop in partnership with Girls Inc. of York Region to provide free dresses, shoes, accessories and even makeup to students in need. Mary Perin and her colleague Mary Lamanna have been organizing things on the school side.
“The ultimate goal is to make sure no student in York Region is experiencing any barrier to attending a milestone social event,” said Perin, the head of the guidance department at Newmarket High School.
She said prom is one of the biggest events for high school students, but this is the first one since COVID-19.
“All of our teenagers have been deprived of experiencing some of these milestone experiences for the last two or three years,” she said. “Now that they are back on the table and students get to enjoy them we’re just making sure if there is a need, especially financial, that none of our students are experiencing that barrier.”
Perin said a lot of students are dealing with saving for post-secondary, having to buy the tickets for prom, or other costs and prom dresses can be quite expensive.
On May 12, from 2:30 to 5 p.m. students in need from all across York Region can come find a dress , shoes, purse or anything else they need to complete their prom look for free.
“All students from York Region are welcome to come. We don’t care whether they go to our school, even grade 8 students who might be looking for their graduation dress for elementary. We don’t care if they go to Catholic school, private school, it doesn’t matter,”
The shop is already stocked with some dresses from Girls Inc. but the school is also asking the community for donations. They are looking for gently used prom or graduation dresses, women’s shoes, purses, jewellery, and accessories. They are also looking for new, unopened makeup, nail polish, and toiletries.
Donations can be dropped off in the bin outside the school—located at 505 Pickering Cres.—until May 10. Perin checks the bin everyday and hangs up what they receive in the room where they have set up the shop.
Anything not used from this event will be taken by Girls Inc. to be used at the next prom pop-up.
“It keeps dominoing on to the next group of girls that might need something,” Perin said.
Prom dates vary by school but Newmarket High School students will be celebrating on June 9.
