MANTEO, N.C. — Manteo Faith Baptist Church, at least a part of it, transformed temporarily into what looks like a prom boutique, filled with high school students and parents.
There were dozens of students from northeastern North Carolina, looking for that perfect prom gown, shoes and jewelry, And it all comes free. There's no charge,
Sara Jester and her daughter Alayna said it's amazing to have this resource.
"I don't have to worry about driving all the way to Virginia and there are so many options and I don't have to worry about pricing," Alayna said.
Brianna Willoughby tried on at least six dresses before finding the winner.
"I needed a prom dress and they always have good prom dresses," Willoughby said.
Her mother, Tania Starboard was as excited as Brianna. She's also aware of what this might have cost her.
It's all made possible by the group Project Glam Girls. Quinn Capps, a long-term substitute teacher at Manteo High, is the founder and explains why she started it.
"I was one of these girls," she said. "I didn't have a whole lot of money you know, and I remember feeling like that."
Everything is covered, even if something needs altering. A seamstress was on hand to take care of that at no charge.
And even though it's called Project Glam Girl, there were clothes for the guys, too.
Now, the area where they're holding this is normally a part of the church's preschool, so they had to clear out all of the daycare's toys and fixtures, bring all of the gowns down that are stored up in the church attic, and turn the area into a boutique, in about a week's time.
Then, after three days of the event, they had to clear all of the clothes, shoes, and jewelry out, bring all the preschool fixtures back in, and turn this back into a church daycare.
Quinn says she had a lot of help.
"This year, my kids at Manteo High School, they all needed community service hours. They have just come in and they've gotten this set up," Quinn said.
She also credits, what she calls her Glam Squad, a team of volunteers to help pull this off.
For all these reasons, News 3 presented Quinn with an Everyday Hero award, along with a $300 Visa gift card from our community partner Southern Bank.
Quinn was stunned, grateful and tearfully shared why this is so important to her.
"Because I love these kids, that's why. They come in, some of them come in, they look so sad and afraid and when they leave, their confidence is up," she said. "They're smiling and happy and that's what it's all about."
Quinn would love to have a store-front location, to help out students year-round. If you can help her with that or if you'd like to donate formal wear clothing to Quinn or make a monetary contribution you can reach her at this email: projectglamgirls@gmail.com
