Every girl should have a prom dress

Deborah Bokas, director of social services at Osborn Family Health Center, Camden, holds a donated dress.

Prom night is not only one of the most important social events of the school year, it is also one of the most expensive. To ensure no girl goes without a dress for the prom, the Osborn Family Health Center, in partnership with Brimm Medical Arts High School, is sponsoring a Prom Gown Drive.

All donated prom gowns will be distributed to the young women of Brimm Medical Arts High School in Camden.

Clean, wearable gowns, dressy cocktail-length dresses and prom accessories such as handbags, shoes and jewelry are being collected throughout February and March. Donations may be dropped off at the Osborn Family Health Center located directly across the street from Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center at 1601 Haddon Avenue, Camden.

“Prom dresses can be very expensive, and they get put low on the list of priorities when families are financially struggling,” says Deborah Bokas, director of social services at Osborn Family Health Center. “The prom gown drive helps take that burden off the family, so that prom can be an enjoyable event for all.”

Last year 350 dresses were collected.

“Every young woman should be able to go to her prom and feel beautiful in the dress she wears,” says Bokas. “It is so unbelievably rewarding to know that each donation is making a girl’s prom dream come true.”