JMU second year starts prom dress charity to help young cash strapped girls

A philanthropic finalist has set up a charity to allow underprivileged girls so they can go to end of year proms.

Second year, Alice Outten, is helping young girls get dresses for free with her new charity Prom Ally.

With prom season quickly approaching young girls across the country will be searching for that perfect gown. The charity aims to help girls, who may be facing financial hardship, enjoy their special night.

Alice, left, at her prom

Alice Outten, who is a second year Law student at JMU, told The Tab: “I was watching a documentary about poverty in the UK and saw a young girl on it who’s parents were struggling to afford a dress and it upset me because young girls should be excited for their prom, not dreading it.”

Prom Ally offers the free loan of prom dresses to school children, sixth form, and, college students. All of the dresses will be used, purchased from charity shops, or, donated directly. They will be checked and freshly laundered before each loan.

The charity has been in the pipelines for the past year, but due to her university work and exams Alice has only now been able to concentrate on the charity. In its first week of promotion Prom Ally was featured on ITV News and the ITV website.

The website is the easiest way for girls to browse the collection, with a variety of dresses, with details, sizes, and, photos.

Prom Ally is on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and, Instagram where there are photos of the dresses as well as behind the scenes photos and news.

Alice added: “For now, there will be a small postage and packaging fee as I’m a uni student and am trying to fund all of this myself. But in the future, we’re hoping to make it completely free by receiving funding such as grants.”

The loan of the dresses are free of charge, however £10.00 will be requested to cover the cost of delivery and return postage.

Alice said: “We have around 25 dresses so far. We haven’t had anyone wanting to borrow one yet, as we have just begun promoting it properly this week.

“If a young girl is struggling to afford a dress, they need to email me and I will send one over to them with a returns package so they can pop it back to me when they’ve worn it.”

If you have a dress which would be suitable to donate, email: [email protected].