CHELSEA- Girls at the King’s Home recently received help from the community while preparing for prom. Girls who are planning to attend their high school’s prom or the King’s Home Hear the Hope Banquet in March were able to choose from a wide array of donated dresses, shoes and accessories.

For the past few weeks, the King’s Home and Rachel Ivey worked to take up prom dress donations from residents in Shelby County and the surrounding areas. They hosted Prom Dress Donation Day on Friday, Feb. 10 for locals to drop off their donations. King’s Home also received several dresses from the Upsidaisy Boutique in Sylacauga.

“When they found out about this, they were excited. They were going from rack to rack,” Girls’ Counselor Julie Mealins said. “They got to pick whatever they liked, as long as it fit them. They got to pick between short or long dresses and their favorite colors. They got to pick based on their own personal style and size.”

Seniors with the best grades and best behavior got to have the first pick.

“This was to reward them, especially for academics. It’s hard to make good grades when you’re in foster care,” Mealins said. “We think it’s important to reward the girls who work hard.”

Mealins thanked everyone who donated, and said they helped make many girls’ dreams come true.

“Shelby County is a great community. People here are very giving and often help out with things like this. It’s a very generous community,” Mealins said. “We want them to have the most normal experiences that they can have. Some of the girls wouldn’t be able to go to prom.”

One of the girls, a junior at the Shelby County College and Career Center, said she was taken by surprise when she was told that she was going “shopping” for a prom dress.

“My house mom came home and told me what was going on. I saw all these dresses, and I found a dress that fit me perfectly,” she said. “I love this dress. It’s blue, has little rhinestones and is strapless. It was made for my body, and the color brought out my complexion.”

A Chelsea High School senior said she is extremely excited to wear the dress she chose to her first dance.

“This dress is really pretty on me, and it fits my skin tone really well. I’ve never been to a dance before. I wanted to go to my junior prom, and I couldn’t. I’m so happy right now,” she said. “Wearing this dress made me feel like a princess.”

Mealins said King’s Home is still receiving dress donations. To learn more about donating, contact Ivey at ivey328@gmail.com.