SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Merle Skipwith says spring is the season when she makes dreams come true.
“It’s the time of the year when our young ladies can look their very, very best. And that’s prom time,” Skipwith said.
Mz. Skippy, as she is affectionately called, is something of a fairy Godmother who makes the prom possible for hundreds of local teens who can’t afford a fancy gown.
“I’ve had dads bring their daughters here and they came on a bus. I had students who lived underneath a bridge and wanted to go to prom for the first time,” Mz. Skippy told Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen.
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Every March since 2012, this great-great-grandmother opens her prom showroom inside the Old National Market and Mall in College Park.
The dresses are free for girls who want to go to the dance.
Many are brand-new, the rest were just worn once.
Michele Telfair brought in a gown her daughter wore to prom last year.
“I told her to donate it. She was like, ‘I can sell this dress.’ No. Give it to Mz. Skippy and you’ll be blessed with more,” Telfair said.
“These dresses cost a lot of money. You add the shoes on top of that,” Mz. Skippy said. The shoes are free too, along with the alterations.
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Mz. Skippy is a professional seamstress.
After selecting a dress, some of the girls send their fairy Godmother a picture from the ball.
“This is something that is everlasting. You’ll never forget your first prom,” she said.
If you’d like to donate a prom dress, you can drop it off at the Old National Mall at 4588 Old National Highway in College Park or call 937-829-7597.
Mz. Skippy’s dress shop will be open for the next eight weeks, Wednesday through Sunday.
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