Do Something Big

I, rather my mom, has a closet full of formal gowns that will never see the light of day on my body again. Who was I kidding when I thought they'd fit and I'd wear them all again?? My parents are in the process of moving and my lovely mother saw fit that I take possession of the gowns. Trust me, that didn't thrill my husband, at all. Well, my sweet friend Suzette has saved the day! She is a teacher in the Mississippi Delta and works with inner-city, severely under-privileged kids. They are wanting to have the "prom of their dreams" - only most of these kids can't imagine being able to afford one gown, much less the 7 in my closet! Suzette is asking for donations - either monetarily or in the form of dress. I know I'm not the only one who has hoarded these beauties!! The following is the email I received from Suzette. I have taken out her contact information for security's sake, but if you are interested in helping her and these students out, please leave a message with your email and I will forward it along! Please, help me help Suzette help these deserving students!

God Bless!
Sarah


Dear Friends and Family,



My name is Suzette Matthews and I recently graduated from Texas Tech University and moved to the Mississippi Delta in an effort to help poverty stricken schools with Teach for America. For those of you who are not familiar with TFA, it is a program for "recent college graduates of all majors and career interests and working professionals to commit two years to teach in urban and rural school.in our highest-poverty communities" (www.teachforamerica.org). Upon moving to the Delta, I have experienced a number of unimaginable challenges in the classroom and outside of it. My students are exceptionally poor and very much behind academically and socially. Although my students suffer horrible injustices everyday, I feel as if they should have somewhat of a normal high school education, academically and in extra-curriculars. With this being said, my students would like to put on a prom this year and have been saving their money to have the best prom in high school history. This is a great feat for them, since their families do not have money to buy them clothes to wear to school, much less for prom. The school district has been kind enough to give the Junior class money to host the prom, but by no means is it going to make ends meet. The girls cannot afford dresses and the boys cannot afford tuxes. I know that what a person wears to prom shouldn't really matter, but when you think back to your own high school days, you would have been mortified if you did not have a dress to wear to prom, only your school uniform. I am forever grateful that I grew up in the community that I did and never had to worry about this. I know that after I wore my dresses once, I never wore them again; they just hung in my closet. So, with help from surrounding communities and you, I know that I can find enough dresses for my students to have the prom they've always dreamt of. What I am asking is that you look through your daughter's old formal dresses and perhaps yours and donate them to the students at Ruleville Central High School. This would be a great donation for a tax write-off and would also help you get a jump start on your spring cleaning. If you can participate in anyway possible it would mean the world to my students. The deadline to donate will be 2/25 (Wednesday).

We plan to have a fun bazaar for the girls and help them choose a wonderful dress.

I would also like to thank all of you who donated books and money for my classroom. We now have a great lending library that I run right out of my classroom. I know that these books are making a difference for my students.



With heartfelt gratitude,

Suzette Matthews