Plains volunteers provide prom apparel

For the fourth consecutive year, the Plains Community Clothing Bank is loaning prom apparel to kids planning to attend school proms.

Jessica Peterson wants to make sure kids don't miss the school prom because they don't have the right clothes to wear, which is why she set up a temporary clothing outlet of just prom apparel in the basement of the Assembly of God Church on the Move in Plains last weekend. Calling it "Prom It Forward," Peterson helped more than a dozen kids from Noxon to Plains select clothes for the prom. And the clothes are on loan with no rental costs. Peterson said all the clothes are cleaned before giving them out. She said they like to get them back a week after prom.

"It's a wonderful way to give back to the community and to let them know that we love and support them," said Peterson, who helped the kids pick out the clothes and even volunteered her hemming skills. Ten girls and three boys took advantage of the outreach program, including one girl from Charlo. Most were done by appointment Saturday and Sunday, but they had one boy on Monday. The program is growing, with three times as many participants as the previous year.

The shop had a wide variety of clothes, most that were donated by community members and are used, although there were some new ones that people donated last year. They had dozens of suits for boys, along with more than 30 dress shirts and trousers in a variety of sizes, numerous ties, several styles of shoes, including a pair of western style boots and a cowboy hat, which Charles "Bubba" Boehme of Noxon tried on with a western style suit jacket.

The 17-year-old Boehme tried on three suits before settling on a dark suit, black shoes, white shirt and a colorful tie for his senior prom on April 9. His younger sister, Farrah, tried on six gowns before going with the first one she picked. "This is awesome," said their mother Tiffaney Lewis, who saw the program on Facebook. She said she and Farrah went all the way to Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, last year in search of a prom dress. She said this is much better because she doesn't have to pay for a dress that her daughter would wear one time. "This helped us a lot and they looked so good," she said.

Peterson spent four days setting up the prom shop in the church's coffee shop. They had more shoes for the girls than boys, but she hopes to get more for next year. This is only the second year they've had boys clothes. There was also a larger variety of girls clothes, including vintage dresses from the 1970s and 1980s, said Peterson, and a couple wedding dresses that could work as prom gowns. They also had a lot of jewelry for the girls this year.

Peterson said she's sometimes amazed at the transformation when the kids don the prom apparel. "When they come out with the dress or suit on and they look in the mirror and I see that smile that says wow, that's me, I look great," said Peterson. "They stand taller and get giddy with excitement, especially when they find the perfect prom outfit," she added.

"We just want people to go to the prom. We don't want them to miss it because they can't afford clothes," said Peterson. "Being able to bless families to have their kids be a part of a fun school event is a great feeling."