Z’Kaiyah Gray had a beautiful red column draped over her arm, and she had a pair of dark pumps in her free hand and a black evening bag in her hands. She beamed as Beth Vantosh gave her a pale bag full of bright tissue and a few ornaments Gray had chosen to go with her dress.
Gray, a freshman at Beach High School, has a great spring back. She immediately graduates, and she has already been accepted into many nursing schools. ( She’s still deciding. ) But she’s only found her graduation dress – for free! – at the Race to the Prom pop-up factory on Bull Street, which was built in one of Vantosh’s real estate agencies.
“And tomorrow’s her birthday”, said Gray’s daughter before they headed home.
Carolina Braunschweig, a middle school teacher from Savannah-Chatham who has previously volunteered with San Francisco’s, is the inspiration behind the annual Savannah dress freebie. When she relocated to Savannah, she became aware that many students did not attend formal events like winter weddings and other events where they might need a cocktail dress or gown because the fees of purchasing a dress, shoes, jewelry, hair and makeup outweighed their families’ budgets.
Braunschweig obtained funding through the organization’s Project Tov, a collection of initiatives that serve the needs of the greater Savannah society, and Vantosh, a companion she met through Chabbad of Savannah.
“She was telling me,’ I need a place. I want it to be like a financial encounter,” recalled Vantosh, “and my business had a roll- up purchase going on for about a season hear. They were leaving, and it just worked out”.
Gowns donated to help teenagers know their graduation fantasies
Any Lowcountry girl looking for a gorgeous dress should win a prom dress, according to Braunschweig, who mobilized volunteers from the Jewish Educational Alliance and other companies to act as personal stylists and fashion consultants for teens.
Each girl makes an appointment for an hour-long shopping trip where they try on all the clothes, shoes, and jewellery they want. They are permitted to bring up to one opera home for free, but they are required to contribute a small sum, about$ 20, if they choose more than one costume.
The owner-designer behind, Emily Bargeron, has donated numerous skirts in all shapes, sizes, colors, and colors, from bejeweled ballgowns with lace and lace to multi-colored chevron-patterned trumpets made for people with strong personalities who want to be noticed.
Said Braunschweig, “Some women want to look like a lady, some want brightness and glitter, some are looking for someone more moderate, and some are all about sexy”.
More than 100 of the clothes were donated by the California Princess Project. Some never-worn skirts with their keywords still exist. provided outfits, and donated well-preserved dresses from the past.
But most of the carefully loved tuxedos and worn- when bridesmaid dresses were donated from women’s closets throughout Savannah, said Braunschweig. The JEA’s bad reception team has been collecting for weeks!
Since Race to the Prom’s windows opened on March 25 and has received between 150 and 200 youth ‘ purchases, They’ve come from every great school in Chatham County, from Island to Beach to Woodville to Jenkins. “Ladies attending the homeschoolers ‘ prom, from as far ahead as Statesboro, and perhaps a lady from Isle of Hope getting ready for her first seventh- quality dance”, said Braunschweig.
“It’s been a whole lot of excitement. What’s remarkable is watching the women sift through the containers, going through those hundreds of clothes, all of them so various, and finding the perfect one. All looks beautiful”.