Volunteers make prom dreams come true for teens

Area teens received free prom dresses and tuxedos thanks to volunteers with the Assistance League's Operation Cinderella.

Assistance League is a Bay Area group made up of more than 200 volunteers who are dedicated to improving the quality of life for at-risk residents with its services, education and financial assistance, according to a press release.

Part of Assistance League's outreach includes a used clothing store called the Resale Shop, located at 100 E. NASA Parkway, Suite 80 in Webster, where at-risk residents can shop. This is where Operation Cinderella took place so that more than 70 girls could be outfitted for free for prom.

The girls received a formal gown, short party dress, shoes, jewelry and a purse free of charge from the Resale Shop, the press release stated.

Tuxedo rentals were also provided to 35 young men for the prom.

The teens who received the items were referred to Assistance League by high school counselors in Clear Creek, Dickinson and La Porte school districts.

"It was the most amazing experience," Melissa Sewell, vice chairman of Operation Cinderella, said in a press release. "To see how these girls' faces just lit up when they tried these dresses on, to see their moms cry when they saw their daughters in dresses they knew they could never have given them, it gives me chills even thinking about it."

Operation Cinderella was made possible through the proceeds made by the Resale Shop and the Assistance League's annual fundraiser, FEAST: A Night on Bourbon Street.

This year's FEAST will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 14 at the Houston Marriott South at Hobby Airport, located at 9100 Gulf Freeway, and will feature a multi-course dinner, silent and live auction, music and dancing.

For more information about Assistance League, visit www.bayarea.assistanceleague.org.