Community makes prom affordable
BROOKSVILLE –
When Pat Herrmann first heard about students not being able to afford to go to prom, she thought that just wasn’t right.
“All these kids should have the opportunity to go to their prom,” she said. “How can we help them go to their prom and be able to afford it with the economy as it is?”
Herrmann, a former teacher and current Kiwanis Club of the Nature Coast member, brainstormed with the students of Central High Key Club to come up with a solution.
“It started out as a little service project to help kids with what they needed for prom so they could afford it,” she said. “Then the community just started jumping on board, saying ‘I want to help.'”
The service project has blossomed into a full-blown fashion show and dinner event with the help of The Kiwanis of the Nature Coast, several Hernando County businesses and professional seamstress and local Kiwanian, Wanda Bruno. Assistance has also come from Miss Florida U.S. International 2012 Cassandra Mandeville, Miss South East U.S. International 2012 Brianna Birmingham, Mr. Teen Florida 2012 Carlos Carrasquillo and numerous donations of “gently-used” prom dresses from within the community.
On Saturday, the Kiwanis Club will host the inaugural “A Passion for Fashion” prom show, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Hernando County Fairgrounds, located at 6436 Broad St., Brooksville.
The show will feature gowns ranging in price from $40 to $800. The gowns will be modeled by Key Club members at Central High School and models from the Envy Models & Talent in Spring Hill.
There will be a raffle at the event for high school students to have chances to win donated prom dresses, tuxedo rentals, hair and nail salon services, jewelry, corsages and boutonnieres and other accessories.
Suzi Hosfeld, owner of Envy Models & Talent and the state director for the Miss Florida U.S. International pageant, was excited to join the effort to help kids in the community.
Admission tickets for this event are $10 for adults and include a pasta dinner and a door prize ticket. Students can either purchase admission tickets for $15, which includes a pasta dinner, five raffle tickets, and a door prize ticket, or in lieu of purchasing an admission ticket, students can donate their “gently used” prom dress instead. Dinner includes pasta, salad, dessert and beverages.
Admission tickets can be purchased and/or prom dresses can be dropped off for donation at the following locations:
For more information, please contact Pat Herrmann at (352) 345-4427.
