Carla Clark | For The Republic Drew Moran, organizer of Promject Runway, holds armloads of dresses for the event that is being hosted by the Bartholomew County Public Library, Columbus, Ind., Friday, February 23, 2024.
Local residents can help give a local teen the prom of their dreams by donating prom attire to Promject Runway, a project of the Bartholomew County Public Library. This project aims to provide a free and accessible prom shopping experience to all teens.
Donations of clean, prom-appropriate attire in good condition are being accepted at the downtown Columbus library, 536 Fifth St., and can either be dropped off at the front desk or brought back to the teen area.
Donations will be accepted until mid- to late-March and two dates will be announced in the future for teens to come and pick out their attire. Teens are allowed to select one outfit each.
Plus-sized dresses, size 16 and up, and shoes smaller than 7 and larger than 9 are some of the biggest items needed right now, Bartholomew County Public Library teen services manager Christina Kelley said. Accessories such as clutches or jewelry are also needed items. Monetary donations are not being accepted.
“We are not set up for that, but we are encouraging people if they would rather do something like that to take that money to a thrift store and buy prom attire to donate because we just don’t have any way to set up for cash for this program right now,” Kelley said.
The library also has more than 200 dresses in storage from the last time they offered Promject Runway in 2024, in addition to several suits and button down shirts. Previous BCPL employee Drew Moran first organized the project in 2024, and though last year’s Promject Runway dates were canceled due to weather and vandalism at The LEX, Kelley said they saw a very positive response from the community the first yearit was offered.
“We had over 70 teens get prom attire,” Kelley said.
