Press release:
The Hope Center of Le Roy is undertaking the 10th annual “Girls Helping Girls” prom dress giveaway from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14th. Girls from all over the region are welcome.
The Hope Center is located at 42 Main St., Le Roy. It is decorated exquisitely and loaded with loving encouragement for next Saturday's event.
Several hundred dresses, some gently used but many brand new ranging in size from 0-24 have been donated and will be on display at the Hope Center of L e Roy.
Girls can find their size and color and try them on, according to Hope Center Director Rev. Henry Moore, whose wife, Valerie, was inspired to start this giveaway to relieve families from the pressure of buying a dress for a one-time event, precious as it is.
The dresses have come from individuals and stores around the area and are checked for condition and cleanliness. Volunteers from the local community staff this event to help girls’ sort through the displays, find matches to their tastes, and guide them to dressing rooms.
“Sometimes people can’t believe that these dresses are really free,” according to Rev. Moore, “but there really are no strings attached. This is a gift to the young girls of this region.
"We want them to know that they are loved by God, that He made them beautifully, and that their lives deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”
The Hope Center spreads the benefit of this even beyond American shores.
"From the beginning, we wanted to provide these dresses strictly as an act of kindness, but some people insist on wanting to make cash donations out of appreciation” Valerie Moore said. “So, we decided to keep the ‘Girls Helping Girls’ theme going and pay it forward.
"The dresses are free, and we mean that; but if anyone really wants to make a donation out of gratitude, we will pass on any donations to Tanzania’s House of Hope in the City of Moshi. The House of Hope is a large home being built to rescue girls from a life of certain sex slavery; it will be a place where the girls can be equipped and trained for a life of meaning and purpose beyond their wildest dreams. It’s a Win-Win!”
But again, there as here, the emphasis is that these dresses are given freely.
The Hope Center was established with a vision to provide spiritual and material support to area citizens and, through the message of hope, call the community to reach its God-given destiny and over the past nine years it has donated upwards of 500-plus dresses to young women across five different counties here in Western New York.
Event coordinator Val Moore will be stepping down after this year’s event, so this year may mark the last year that the Hope Center will sponsor the event.
Her prayer is that someone from the local community will have the same heart and desire that she had that would love to carry this outreach to a whole new level.
Individuals or organizations that may be interested can contact the Hope Center, at which point the remaining dresses will be passed on. For more information, please contact the Hope Center at 585-768-8184, or at: info@hopecenterleroy.org
