This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Immaculate Heart Student Brings Prom Dresses to Girls in Need

Dana Scheffler runs the local chapter of Becca's Closet to help every girl have a special night.

student Dana Scheffler has hundreds of dresses at home, but they're not all for herself — Scheffler volunteers her time by gathering prom dresses for girls who cannot afford to buy their own.

She volunteers with a group called Becca's Closet, a national nonprofit which donates dresses to girls in need. Scheffler said she and her sister started the local chapter when she was in seventh grade and they wanted to find a charity to get involved with.

"We started Googling stuff — that's how it always starts — and we found Becca's Closet," Scheffler said. "They didn't have a New York or New Jersey chapter, so we started it."

Find out what's happening in Westwood-Hillsdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

They originally ran their chapter of Becca's Closet through , but Scheffler said she found they did not need many people to run it, so she has gone independent with the help of a few friends. Scheffler has also worked to gather suits for donation with her brother, Tyler, and his friends Austin Hliboki, Mark Cieslak and Zack Sims who attend Saint Joseph's.

Scheffler estimated she had about 400 dresses in her family's garage this year, all of which will end up with a new owner. Some dresses are given to individual girls who ask, others are delivered in bulk to high schools in Paterson and foster care homes in East Orange. Bringing the dresses to the girls is the best part of process, Scheffler said.

Find out what's happening in Westwood-Hillsdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It's a lot of fun, going to the places, getting girls to try on the dresses," Scheffler said.

Anyone interested in donating or receiving a dress can contact Dana Scheffler at dscheffler14@ihahs.com.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?