No gown for the prom? No problem!
It’s stressful enough just finding a
gown for prom night, let alone having enough money to afford
it. Most girls only wear the fancy outfits once, yet their
parents often shell out several hundred dollars so their loved
ones can attend in style. For less fortunate families, the
price tag is simply too much, which means many teens may never
get the chance to attend.
Cleaner Dave Fischgrund of South Bend, IN,
is trying to make sure that doesn’t happen.
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As vice president of Ziker Cleaners, Inc., Fischgrund is in a unique position to come up
with a remedy for the problem. On February 1, he kicked off a
drive at all 11 Ziker locations to collect gently used dresses.
Since then, the local community has
responded very strongly. Over 400 gowns have been donated
(including one from his daughter) and that figure is expected
to double by the end of the month.
“This has taken on a life of its
own,” admitted Fischgrund, who makes sure each delicate
piece of donated clothing runs through a tunnel finisher. Those
who would like the dresses to be cleaned will receive a coupon
for half-price.
Fischgrund got the idea for the campaign
from a friend who owns Peerless Cleaners in Ft. Wayne. He is
being aided by a woman’s organization — the Junior
League of South Bend — which is in charge of distributing
the dresses.
The drive will culminate with a
“Princess for a Night” event on Saturday, March 20
at the St. Joseph Educational Resource Center at University
Park Mall. From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., area teens will be
allowed to choose a formal dress free of charge.
“There are absolutely no
restrictions. Everyone is invited,” Mari Linn Wise, of
the Junior League, told the South Bend Tribune.
High school girls will only need to show a
student identification card at the door to participate.
Volunteers will be present to assist with the selection
process, which will take place on a first-come, first-served
basis. The Junior League is currently talking with local salons
and restaurants in an effort to obtain free gift certificates
for other prom-related costs to offer as door prizes for the
event.
Planning and implementing the promotion
wasn’t very difficult for Fischgrund since Ziker Cleaners
annually participates in a coats for kids drive. However, he
noted, gowns are easier to handle and, not too
surprisingly, take up about half the space of coats.
So far, the event has garnered a lot of
publicity with stories from the local newspaper, radio and
television media, including the Fox morning news and WSBT-TV
and WNDU-TV, affiliates with CBS and NBC, respectively.
Ziker’s Cleaners, Inc., was
originally founded in 1917 and is currently in its third
generation of family ownership under the leadership of David
Ziker. The company’s web site is located at.
