History

Once Upon a Prom began in 2019 when a small group of friends, connected to Eastern Hancock Schools, came together to offer a program that would meet a youth need within our community each year.  As parents, we knew and had heard just how costly Prom could be.  The cost alone was enough to prevent some students from being able to attend their high school Prom.  Our solution was to host an annual event where the high school girls could come to shop and go home with a free dress.

In order to do this, we were relying heavily on the community's generosity and dress donations...and they came through big time!  Businesses donated services and gift certificates and individuals donated like-new dresses they had worn previously.  Several organizations and businesses donated their last season dress inventory.  EH donated space to host our event and later, when we outgrew that space, The Overlook at Briney Creek became a title sponsor and agreed to allow us to host our event there annually.  We were blessed with support in a big way!

During our first year, we advertised our event as "need-based" and provided dresses to 34 students.  We knew there were many more students who could utilize our program and we felt we were missing the mark somewhere.  After much discussion, we decided to open our event up to anyone, rather than marketing it as a "need-based" only shopping experience.  

Opening up our event in this way does a few things:

1.  It allows participants to determine their own need and ability to give.

2. It removes any stigma.  Some of those truly in need would simply not attend because they would not want others to know their situation.

3. It allows families who don't necessarily meet certain low income guidelines to shop our event.  We recognize that there are many middle class families who don't fit into a specific "need" criteria but, still struggle and simply don't have the extra money to purchase a new dress.

4. It allows a fundraising opportunity for our program.  Those who shop because they like thrifting and are budget savvy are often fortunate enough to be able to give a monetary donation in exchange for a dress.  These funds help to financially sustain the program!

5. It keeps dress donations coming in!  Many girls shopping our event bring last year's dress to donate.  Those less fortunate don't always have a past dress available to donate.  This ensures we have a continuing and rotating dress inventory.

In 2020, when we marketed our event as 'open to any high school girl' and removed the 'need-based' criteria, we saw a huge increase in shoppers.  The number of dresses given away increased by 187% from one year to the next!  This was amazing to witness!!

Since 2020, our reach has grown exponentially!  In 2023, we welcomed 308 shoppers and gave away 266 free dresses.  48 different schools from all over Indiana were represented and we also had several homeschooled students.  We had shoppers travel from as far as 80 plus miles away to shop for their perfect dress!  Most of these shoppers also left with a pair of shoes and jewelry or other accessories!  

We are so grateful to have Changing Footprints join us each year with their huge assortment of shoes!  

Once Upon a Prom is currently in the process of obtaining our 501(c)3 status.  We are looking forward to our upcoming shopping event February 8-9, 2025!