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Many girls dream about having their perfect fairy-tale prom; getting their hair done, finding the cutest shoes, the perfect dress, spending a night with friends and Prince Charming…but what if you can’t afford the dress of your dreams? What if you can’t even afford a dress at all? This is why a 2009 Susquenita graduate, Kelsi Wiley, created “One Dress at a Time.”

While Kelsi was shopping with her mother for her perfect prom dress for her senior prom, she noticed just how expensive one dress could be! Kelsi thought that if she was having trouble affording her own prom dress, her friends and classmates were probably having the same trouble as well.

“One Dress at a Time” is an organization that provides girls with dresses to give them a fairy-tale-like prom. Anyone can donate gently worn prom dresses, in order for girls in Central Pennsylvania to borrow them at no charge, and wear them for their prom. Since Kelsi has graduated, the organization, "One Dress at a Time" has continued to create more fairy-tale-like proms for other girls on a tight budget.

We hold a collection every year near “prom season,” but this year, we are making a push to update our collection, and get newer styles of dresses. In the future, “One Dress at a Time” is hoping to expand so that girls may also borrow homecoming dresses. Local businesses are encouraged to offer discounts and promotions on related services, such as dry-cleaning, manicures and more. Please keep an eye out for our event on April 21.

If you have any questions or comments please e-mail Abbey Kemble or Mr. Christopher Gingrich at onedressatatime@yahoo.com  or check out my website, www.onedressatatime.wikispaces.com . We hope to hear from you soon! Thanks!