Newnan High School students get prom help with donated dresses

NEWNAN, Ga. - A prom dress giveaway to help victims of the Newnan tornado has become a big success. It was so successful, organizers said they will do it again next year with more than a thousand donated dresses leftover from this year’s event.

Many families lost everything to the storm, but a group of women realtors in Coweta County has helped to make this weekend’s prom special.

In just a few short weeks, the Women’s Council of Realtors in Coweta County received more than 2,000 donated prom dresses. They said they knew there was a need with more than a thousand homes destroyed or damaged by the Newnan tornado, but until the girls actually showed up to try on the dresses, they had no idea of the impact of their efforts.

The timeline is chronicled in social media posts.  The call went out with printed flyers on May 30, three days after the storm. Dresses started arriving the next day. On April 1, there were already several dozen donated dresses. By April 5, the number had grown to more than 700 gowns. By April 18, nearly 2,000.

It would be more than 2,000 on April 21, the day of the giveaway. From donated space volunteers worked to outfit the girls, and by now guys too in all that was required for a night at prom.

There was so much excess, that organizers opened it up to other Coweta County high schools.

Many of the boys received vouchers for free tuxedos.

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