Wendy Baylor is sizing dresses, and making sure everything is neat and ready to go for the Fairy Godmothers of Virginia Prom Fair.
“We're excited. We're ready for the girls to get out here and get some good dresses. We are set up and ready to roll,” says Wendy, a teacher.
It’s a tough job for the organizer and her team of volunteers.
It takes months of preparation and lots of dress donations so girls can find the dress of their dreams for only 10 bucks.
But the end result makes it all worth it for Wendy, who is also a high school teacher.
“I can actually see the girls at prom in action, and I know, being a teacher, how expensive it is, to go to a prom and all the costs that go along with it,” says Wendy.
One would think, with racks of nearly 2, 000 dresses, that every girl who walks in the fair should be able to find a dress.
NewsChannel 3 took action when we realized that some plus-sized girls did not have much of a choice.
“That's the one area we've had where girls have come a few times and simply not been able to find a dress that fits them, which can be a little heartbreaking because their hopes are up and they want to look great and we want them to look amazing, too. We do the best we can,” says Wendy.
NewsChannel 3 took action and got results at a Dillard’s in Lynnhaven Mall.
With the generosity of assistant store manager, Trish Stone, who tacked on some extra discounts, we found 9 brand new, beautiful plus-sized prom dresses.
“Something like this, just to bring joy to someone, is well worth it. I like to see people happy,” says Trish.
We had a few more dollars to spend and the store manager at Deb in Pembroke Mall invited us in to shop.
This store had plenty of dresses up to size 24.
The employees went into their own pockets to help pay for the dresses.
The employees donated their own money to make sure we could pay for these remaining four dresses.
With the help of these businesses, NewsChannel 3 was able to add 13 new plus-sized dresses to the fair.
Even a Fairy Godmother could use a Fairy Godmother sometimes.
