Prom Dreams Come Alive In Brooklyn

Brooklyn, NY – Hundreds of enthusiastic graduating high school girls lined up from as early as 6:30 a.m. on Saturday for an opportunity to pick out their special prom dress. In this his first effort of its kind, State Senator Kevin Parker collaborated with two community organizations — Operation Fairy Dust and Redemption Inc. in an effort to give away 500 prom dresses. The venture was aimed at making the prom a dream day for young ladies throughout the borough.

"For many of the young people in our working class districts in Brooklyn, graduation and prom can be stressful because of the expense involved," said Senator Parker. "It is a wonderful opportunity to give back to the community by investing in young graduates as they move on to face the challenges ahead."

The event took place at Tilden J. High School located in the Senator’s district and more than 500 dresses were distributed in a four hour period.

Jasmine Padilla was the first girl to arrive at the venue on Saturday morning. Getting there at 6:30 a.m. she beat out forty something odd other girls who also tried to get a jump start by arriving hours before the advertised start time. Jasmine, who will be graduating from Midwood high school said she was eager to be on time for this event since she missed out on getting a dress at a similar event in Manhattan a few weeks ago. "I was not taking any chances this time," she said, adding, "And there was some cool stuff. This was really a nice gesture from Senator Parker."

Along with two of her schoolmates, Jasmine seized the opportunity to fit several dresses before she found the perfect dress that made her feel "special."

By the 4:00 ‘o’clock close time, hundreds of young women had fitted, zipped, tucked and squeezed into their favorite dress. One of them was Laytoya Edwards. After trying on about five different dresses, she finally got a perfect fit from a beautiful blue and silver full length gown. "I can’t say how good this makes me feel," she said. " I feel as though I am in a fairy tale."

At the end of the day as the satisfied girls walked out with their dress of choice, Senator Parker said: "This was a challenging undertaking but it was absolutely rewarding to do this for our young people."

For further information on the constituent services provided by the office of State Senator Kevin Parker, please call: 718-629-6401.