Angela Pauls has been dressing underprivileged high school grads in vibrantly coloured organza, taffeta and lace since 2016.
The Millet, Alta. woman founded the Prom Project, which allows teens to rent grad dresses for a fraction of the sometimes prohibitive cost.
But the program is at risk of shutting down after the 2019 grad season.
Pauls said she doesn’t profit from the Prom Project. It costs between $60 and $80 to dry clean and repair a dress before donating it to a graduate. Renting a dress costs $75 but Pauls said there haven’t been enough rentals to make up for the investment of repairing and cleaning the gowns.
“It’s not self-sustainable, so my husband has been paying for my little hobby for the last four years,” Pauls said.
“And unfortunately, our fundraiser numbers haven’t been up as much as we had hoped with, of course, the economy the way that it is.”
In October, she had to move her store from Millet to the Wetaskiwin Mall, where rent was more affordable. Two months later, her house burned down — a major financial burden.
But she isn’t giving up on the program yet.
Gina Scott’s daughters, Katrina and Mariah Scott, wear Prom Project dresses at a parade to help promote the program. (Gina Scott)
“The need, I think, is always going to be there,” said Pauls, who noted young women have travelled from out of province to visit her store.
She’s hoping more people come through the store’s doors so the program can continue for future grad seasons.
“It’s unfair that some of these kids just don’t get to go to grad,” Pauls said, noting some graduates choose not to go because of the expense.
“It can also cause the kids who are in need to feel a lot of shame and embarrassment because their family doesn’t have money.”
People in search of their dream dress have over 300 to choose from at the Wetaskiwin store, which also has wedding and cocktail dresses. Helping them find the perfect one is rewarding, Pauls said.
“There’s been a lot of happy tears come grad season,” she said.
‘For somebody to do that meant the world’
Gina Scott and her twin daughters were brought to tears by Pauls’ generosity last grad season.
The sisters have helped promote the Prom Project by modelling donated dresses, Scott said. They were modelling at a Wetaskiwin women’s show when Pauls announced she’d pay for their rentals and grad dinner tickets.
“My girls sat there crying and so did I,” Scott said. “It meant so much to us that somebody is out there giving back to people.”
Gina Scott and Angela Pauls look at dresses at the Prom Project store. (Nathan Gross/CBC)
The dresses the twins wore for their June 2018 graduation were worth about $600 each. Scott said she didn’t have much money saved up to pay for the gowns, as she was on medical leave for two and a half years while fighting breast cancer.
“For somebody to do that meant the world,” said Scott, who was able to pay for the girls to get their hair and makeup done professionally as a result.
She doesn’t want to see the program end.
“It’s heartbreaking because there’s so many families out there that are single moms, single dads, blended families, low-income,” she said.
“As a parent, you feel so much more relieved. You can enjoy that day so much better. You don’t feel like you’re so short on money. And your daughter walks around feeling like a princess, and that’s what they should have.”
Angela Pauls rents out space in the Wetaskiwin Mall for her shop, the Prom Project. (Nathan Gross/CBC)