As junior year comes to an end I just want to reflect on my journey with reWEARable. When the idea came to my mind to start own non-profit to collect dresses for girls who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford them for prom, I thought how could I–a 15 year-old high schooler–collect enough dresses, shoes, and accessories to make a difference? I'll tell you, honestly: one step at a time.
The first thing I did in August was come up with a name. Actually, my mom's best friend did (thanks Shira!). The second thing was to get a lawyer and create a 501c3 to establish reWEARable as a non-profit, which my dad helped me do. The third and probably the hardest, but most exciting, was to reach out to my family, friends, as well as the entire community for dresses, shoes, and accessories! I made calls, went to stores, sent texts, wrote emails, asked friends of friends (of friends) for donations. Thankfully, our family, friends, and community especially came through with flying colors!
My house was basically a store–having collected almost 300 dresses by January. Every time I thought things were sized and organized, another load of dresses came in. I was almost in over my head, but thanks to my mom and the best 6th grade girl I know, Bella Collins, our Sunday's became like a princess party. At our March 22nd event that year, we surpassed our goal with close to 800 dresses!
Without the community's support, reWEARable never would have happened. I received additional help from local stores, high end retailers out of New York, people in my neighborhood, you name it. Marshalls put donation boxes in 24 of their break rooms which was a huge help. The dresses came pouring in (and this is just to name some of the support). In the end, we put on two amazing events and helped with another. It was not only incredibly rewarding to see girls smiling in their prom dresses, but the overwhelming happiness of their teachers, parents, aunts, uncles, and friends who knew what a weight had been lifted off their shoulders was invaluable.
I am proud to say through reWEARable I was able to give hundreds of girls their "princess moment". I'm proud of what I started and can't wait to see what 2019 will bring.
SO, what's reWEARable been up to?
Well, Marshalls is fully on board for next year! We are reaching out to tons of new vendors and stores this year, with some even approaching us. We are already scouting locations in Detroit to hold events as well. reWEARable wants to host several events this year, so if you think your school might be interested please send us an email! We are also looking for for girls grades 9-11 to form a reWEARable Board. We will be electing positions in the late Fall/early Winter. Look out for more information on our Facebook and Instagram!
Thank you for all the support!
xxoo reWEARable
