For four years, the Austin Fairy Godmother Foundation has been making dreams come true by loaning prom gowns to young women who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend the dance.
Now, it needs a fairy godmother of its own.
The organization needs a new place to call home. Specifically, someplace that’s 800-to-1,000 square feet and can store the hundreds of prom dresses, shoes and accessories the Foundation loans to girls all over the Austin area.
“We are open year-round and the girls can come and get a formal outfit,” founder Keri Byer tells us. “We just had a girl come for the Miss Austin Texas Teen pageant —and she was a runner-up!”
The foundation’s plea for donated space recently appeared in several media outlets around town and Keri has received a few offers — but all of them have come with the request that she partner with the location and turn her nonprofit into a money-making endeavor, something Keri is adamantly against. She built the Foundation specifically to help low-income girls, and she refuses to back away from that premise.
“No girl should have to sit at home and miss her formal dance because she can’t afford an outfit. My mission from the beginning has been to make it affordable,” she says. “A lot of these kids [who come to us] are on the free lunch program, or WIC or Medicaid. But here they can get everything they need to be completely outfitted for their event, down to their pantyhose, and feel beautiful and good about themselves.”
Keri, who has never taken a paycheck for running the organization, utilizes a bastion of dedicated volunteers to outfit girls. The only thing the organization asks is that each girl make a $25 donation to cover the costs of dry-cleaning and maintenance on the items borrowed.
This year’s Austin Fairy Godmother Prom Fair will be held April 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at My Party Palace at 208 W. Bagdad in Round Rock. Girls can outfit themselves from head to toe — dress, accessories, and shoes. As an added bonus, the organization also will provide free hairstyles, a professional photo session, and a framed 8x10 photo of the girl and her prom date.
If you have, or know of, a space that Keri and her gowns can call home —or if you would like to volunteer your time or services— please email her at info@austinfairygodmother.org or www.AustinFairyGodmother.org.
Post new comment