For the sixth year in a row, the Princess Prom Project is promising that no high school student will miss her junior or senior prom because a dress - as well as a purse and jewelry to match - is beyond her family's reach.
There are stock items you expect to see in a lawmaker's office: computers, certainly, as well as phone lines, coffee machines and American flags.
What you don't expect is hundreds of new or gently used dresses - formals, cocktail gowns - in an array of styles, colors and sizes.
Unless you're talking about the 14th Legislative District Outreach Center in Hamilton, where, starting this week, high school students in the district will be able to "shop" for the prom dress of their dreams - at no cost.
For the sixth year in a row, the Princess Prom Project is promising that no high school student will miss her junior or senior prom because a dress - as well as a purse and jewelry to match - is beyond her family's reach.
N.J. Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D-Mercer) created the project in 2011, turning to area families to scour their closets for the dresses and accessories to make the program work.
And each year he's blown away by their generosity.
Princess prom program enters 6th year in Hamilton
The garments pour in to what's been dubbed the office's "prom room," which is open on selected days or by appointment between February and May for "shopping parties."
Proms do not come cheap.
A recent survey by Visa found that the average family spent $919 to send its teenager off to the Big Night, and in 2015 Fortune magazine cited a strapless little number that retailed for a cool $1,497.
"The Princess Prom Project continues to be a great avenue for families who want their daughters to have that once-in-a-lifetime experience with the price tag becoming overwhelming for families living on a tight household [budget]," DeAngelo said.
The assemblyman has seen first-hand the joy and excitement as his own two daughters headed for their own proms, and says he knows that both the parents and their young women appreciate their gratis trips to the prom room.
The project is open to students who live in the 14th District, which includes Hamilton, East Windsor, Hightstown, Robbinsville, Monroe Township, Jamesburg, Plainsboro, Spotswood and Cranbury.
DeAngelo's office collaborates with youth service and community outreach organizations to make this wonderful project run so smoothly and efficiently.
Kudos to all the partners, as well as to the donors whose dresses glow like multicolored jewels, arrayed on racks and awaiting this year's first batch of "shoppers" to ooh and aah and daydream over them.
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