MHS Dress Drive has students donning the best for homecoming

In real life, the pumpkin won’t turn into a carriage, the mice won’t become stylish horses and no wand can be waved to make the torn rags a sparkling blue fashionable number.
But luckily, everything won’t undo in real life at midnight, unlike in fairy tales — unless that’s after curfew and mom and dad find out.
No, there may not be a fairy godmother in East County, but that doesn’t mean local girls will go without the perfect dress for homecoming this year. Not if Montesano High School junior Carlee Cavanaugh has anything to say about it.
Cavanaugh is the MHS Associated Student Body business manager, in charge of Food Ball, and more recently the MHS Dress Drive. The Dress Drive collected second-hand dresses and put them up for sale, rent or donation on Saturday, Sept. 12, during the Dress Drive at the school’s Bo Griffith Gym. Cavanaugh, with the help ASB president and senior Kasie Kloempken, organized the event.
The drive featured 93 prom dresses with a range of prices, but all with one factor in common: they’re much cheaper than if they were new.
“If they’re brand new, the dresses can be up to $300, but here they didn’t go over $180,” Cavanaugh said.
When asked how often the dresses are worn, Cavanaugh said, “Only one night, normally — it’s crazy.”
Six of the dresses were donated, and four of the dresses were available for rent.
The dresses were hung from racks in the gym, organized by size. That side of the gym was a shock of color and sparkles, with the stark brown of the folded-up bleachers behind the racks only helping to accentuate the vividness of the dresses. On Saturday, the girls came in to look through the racks for the perfect dresses. From each dress hung a tag, painstakingly attached.
“We’ve been organizing for two weeks,” Cavanaugh said on Saturday. “Tagging all of the dresses was the most difficult part. We put up signs and fliers and we did a lot for it on social media.”
But the effort to organize the event wasn’t without its rewards. As an organizer, Cavanaugh had first pick of the long prom dresses.
“I found my dress here earlier this week — it’s red with jewels on top,” she said. “I had first pick. It’s one of the perks.”
The idea for a Dress Drive had been kicked around for the past few years, ASB faculty adviser Anne Ekerson said. This year’s drive was the first year the idea came to life.
“This was a group of hard workers and they were motivated and they just said let’s do it,” Ekerson said. “We were talking this summer and we said let’s put it together for homecoming, and here it is.”
The way it works is a girl scrutinizes the racks for the perfect dress, tries it on in a back room. If it’s just right, she buys the dress, unless it’s a rental. For the rentals, Cavanaugh took payment and swapped contact information for the dancer and owner, and after homecoming, the dress goes back to its original closet.
Overall, the Dress Drive aimed to solve two problems caused by dances (homecoming, prom and other soirees and galas). First and foremost, it gives the old dresses another night. But it also helps to get girls matched up with the perfect dress for a possibly perfect night.
“I don’t think you should have to spend that much money on dresses,” Cavanaugh said. “They sit in closets for months. One girl had a dress from years ago that she donated to the Dress Drive.”
Cavanaugh said the school plans to take the leftover dresses and seek additional donations for another Dress Drive before prom.
The Dress Drive was available to all students from Montesano, Elma, Hoquiam and Aberdeen, and it was for a good cause.
“Thanks to all the people who brought dresses in, and for helping other girls who might not have been able to afford it,” Cavanaugh said.
On Monday, Ekerson said the Dress Drive sold eight dresses, rented one and four were donated.

“Although we were hoping for more sales, we were pleased we could help some girls find reasonably priced dresses. Some girls made money on a barely worn dress, and some girls walked out with a free dress to wear to homecoming,” Ekerson said. “We plan to do it again for prom, but much earlier (we’re shooting for a late February date), and we are hoping more girls will take advantage of selling their old dresses as well as shopping for a dress at a fraction of what it would cost in a store.”