Staff Writer

School officials and local volunteers have found a way to send high school students without significant financial resources off to prom night in style.

The “Formals for Five” program, now in its second year, has been so successful that officials say they anticipate providing more than 200 area high school girls with prom dresses – at just $5 each.

County students will gather at the Arlington Career Center on Thursday to find the dress of their dreams at a cut-rate price.

“A prom dress can be anywhere from $100 to $250, so it can be a pretty substantial investment for a dress,” said Eleanor Reed, student activities coordinator with the Career Center. “We have the opportunity to let kids and families save money on something that will likely be worn once.”

Formals for Five started last year when members of the Society of Recovering Sorority Girls were looking for a good use for their used formal dresses that they no longer needed. The organization donated about 70 dresses last year, which were snapped up quickly by Arlington teens.

“We actually had to turn some girls away last year, because there just weren’t enough dresses to go around,” said Washington-Lee High School psychologist Ricia Weiner. “This year we started early, asking school staff and community members to donate.”

The result of the expanded efforts has been more than 200 dresses donated thus far for Thursday’s event. Accessories also are being donated to the effort.

“We’ve got women bringing in five barely worn dresses, along with matching shoes and handbags,” Weiner said. “People are excited about this good cause, and it’s not uncommon for women to have several formal dresses in their closet.”

Officials say they could easily just give students the dresses, but by charging $5 each, they can remove some of the stigma of a “charity dress” while allowing students to give to a good cause. All proceeds from the sale will go to the school system’s In Support of Children fund, which collects money for school supplies and other essentials for low-income students.