File photo from 2016 by Raymond Coniglio, when the event was held at Le Roy's Living Waters Church. Mikayla Radecki is shown on left with Denise Parmenter.
Press release:
The Hope Center of Le Roy, a newly established nonprofit charity, is undertaking the eighth annual “Girls Helping Girls” prom dress giveaway from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 14th. Girls from all over the region are welcome.
Several hundred dresses, some gently used but many brand new have been donated and will be on display at the Hope Center of Le Roy at 42 Main St. in Le 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 give away 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,” Rev. Moore said, “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 facility is decorated exquisitely and loaded with loving encouragement for the April 14th giveaway.
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, 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.
