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Students facing financial challenges can choose from hundreds of free prom dresses and accessories when the annual Prom Dress Shop opens Friday, March 7, at Centreville High School.
The shop is open to any student in the area, not only those attending Fairfax County Public Schools. Shoppers must present a valid student ID or another form of school identification to receive a dress.
Macy’s and community members donated the available attire. The program has helped hundreds of students prepare for prom since Centreville High School and the Fair Oaks Classroom on the Mall launched it in 2006.
Marketing students organize and operate the shop, turning their classroom into a retail space while practicing visual merchandising, communication, collaboration and other skills learned during the school year.
Marketing teacher Miranda Schick said the project gives students experience in a real-world retail setting while serving their community and developing skills emphasized in the School Board’s “Portrait of a Graduate.”
The Prom Dress Shop is in the modular classroom building near the stadium, within the student parking lot outside Door 12 at Centreville High School in Clifton.
The shop will operate during these hours:
- Friday, March 7, from 5 to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, March 8, from 2 to 5 p.m.
- Sunday, March 9, from 1 to 4 p.m.
- Friday, April 4, from 5 to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, April 5, from 2 to 5 p.m.
- Sunday, April 6, from 1 to 4 p.m.
Community members may donate gently used, dry-cleaned prom dresses and accessories at the school’s main office from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Donations will also be accepted during shop hours March 7-9 and April 4-6.