4-H'er Makes "Prom Possible"
4-H'er Brooke Crawford put her 10 year involvement in the organization and entrepreneurial spirit to good use by providing formal dresses for high school peers who could not afford them.
Crawford and fellow Saline County, Illinois, 4-H'ers and classmates started the "Prom Possible" project by collecting old and new prom dresses around their county. Crawford wanted to make sure her peers received the total prom package, so they also gathered donations from hair and nail salons.
"4-H helped me prepare this project," Crawford said. "I used a lot of skills I learned, such as community service, service learning, entrepreneurship and woodworking."
With the success of last year's prom season, Crawford decided to open up her own dress store and her woodworking skills came as an advantage. Without fitting rooms for girls to try on dresses, Crawford had to get to work.
"I had to build dressing rooms from scratch, so I got the woodworking curriculum manual from our extension office," Crawford said. "With the help of the manual, I learned how to sand wood, paint and use mechanical tools."
The donated store is open the first and third Saturday of every month, and the free dresses prepare ladies for any formal occasion- homecoming, graduation, prom and weddings.
Crawford hopes to make "Prom Possible" for future high schoolers with the creation of a student advisory board, when she attends college in the fall.