CHIP IN Batavia, a not-for-profit group begun in 2013 to support homeless and low-income Batavia students and their families, is accepting donations for its annual Prom Dress Giveaway event.
The group is accepting donations through its partner, the Batavia Public Library, which will again host the giveaway event to be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 22, and 12:30 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 23.
The event is open to any student from any school district, regardless of need, group officials said. Last year, the event provided more than 800 dresses to students from over 40 schools, event organizers said.
A press release from the CHIP IN group noted that “clean prom dresses in good to excellent condition, as well as shoes, purses, jewelry, new makeup and accessories may be dropped off at the library checkout desk” for the giveaway event.
New this year, every student who visits the event in March will be entered in a raffle for a gift basket containing a gift certificate from Batavia’s Special Occasions on the Avenue, valued at $250, the release said.
Joanne Spitz of Batavia, who co-chairs the event, said the prom dress donation program has been going on for a decade.
“When we started, we were at Zano’s Hair Salon in Batavia and we had one rack (of dresses) and it was only for students from Batavia who had a letter signed by their counselor,” Spitz said. “We then moved to a church and opened it to any Batavia student and then we were invited to go to the Batavia Public Library, where we opened it up to any student from any school district – no letter needed – just any student.”
From there, donations expanded, Spitz said, and spread into many other apparel items and accessories.
“We went to dresses long and short, makeup, accessories, shoes, purses, wraps – everything they need,” she said.
Batavia Public Library Executive Director Josephine Tucci called the dress giveaway “an incredible annual event that benefits teens throughout not only Batavia and the Fox River Valley, but all of northern Illinois and into southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana.”
“No teen should be faced with the prospect of missing out on prom because of their family’s financial situation, and Prom Dress Giveaway helps tear down that barrier so every teen may enjoy their prom,” Tucci said. “We love partnering with CHIP IN Batavia each year and look forward to seeing teens visit the library with their friends and families to search for the perfect dress to make their prom night special.”
Spitz said that in addition to increased awareness, the explosion of donations over the past few years can be attributed to a number of things.
“The economy is not that good and people have become more aware of CHIP IN and what we do,” she said. “We’ve spread the message further and while we help Batavia students, we will also help others if we are connected to them.”
She the event itself has built a good reputation over the years.
“I think just being around this long, word has gotten out,” Spitz said. “And we want it to – that’s our mission – we want to help people and with the economy, it’s expensive. Dresses are very, very expensive now.”
Spitz said on giveaway days, “you don’t even have to need a dress, you can come anyway and many do come with a parent.”
“It’s a very good bonding experience and there are also groups of students that come together and help each other,” Spitz said. “We have private changing rooms. They’re small, but private and there’s mirrors all over. We even have some seamstresses on hand to help them if they love the dress but it doesn’t fit right they’ll try to alter it.”
Spitz said there is no vetting of those looking for a dress.
“There are no questions asked. Even if you’re OK economically, it’s still a lot of money to buy a $500 dress to wear one time,” she said. “There’s no discussion of any kind about, ‘Do you need it? Can you afford it?’ Nothing.”
Donations for the event can be dropped off until Thursday, March 20, at the Batavia Public Library, 10 S. Batavia Ave. Any monetary donations will be used to pay for tuxedo rentals and prom tickets for Batavia students. Checks should be made payable to Batavia Foundation for Educational Excellence, with “CHIP IN Batavia” written on the memo line.
Dress racks for donations will be available near the checkout desk at the library.
The Batavia Public Library is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, call the Batavia Public Library at 630-879-1393.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
