JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — Prom night is one of those rights of passage that high school students look forward to all year. But with the costs of the dance, the dinner, the parties and the clothes, not everyone can afford the luxury of the night.
This year, a Jeffersonville woman decided to help teens in southern Indiana go to prom by providing a crucial element: the dress.
On March 20, Maisie Peterson strung dozens of donated prom dresses up in her front yard. She posted photos on Facebook, inviting anyone in need of a dress to come by her house in the Northaven neighborhood to pick one up for free.
In one afternoon, she gave away 40 dresses and already has dozens more ready to pick their a dress from her front yard.
"I've always been big on wanting to help people any way I can," she said.
Peterson said she was inspired to start this project because of her own experience. When she was a teenager in Charlestown, her family didn't have the money to buy her a dress. It was something her friends at the time dealt with, too.
"I know growing up in a low-income family how hard that can be," Peterson said. "I didn't even go to my senior year prom."
Now that she's an adult with kids of her own, Peterson said she felt like this was her time to give back.
"When I saw people needed dresses, it was like a push," she said. "It takes stress not only off of juniors and seniors, but their families too. It's one less thing they have to buy, one less thing they have to worry about."
She said much of her success from the weekend was thanks to her friends and followers on Facebook, who helped spread the word that she was giving out the dresses.
Among the messages, one woman who does the same kind of work in Nashville, Indiana gifted Peterson almost 200 dresses before her first giveaway.
"It just kind of escalated from there," she said.
During her second weekend of giveaways, Peterson said she gave out more than 50 dresses.
If someone is in need of a dress and can't make those dates, Peterson said they can contact her through her Facebook to make an appointment.
At this time, she said she does not need any more dresses donated. In a Facebook post, she wrote that she "has more dresses than I do space."
Peterson said she plans to make this giveaway an annual event with even more items to share. Whatever she isn't able to give away this year, she said she will keep and save for the next.
"I think next year I'll try to do shoes and accessories so they can have a whole outfit in one spot for free," Peterson said.
She also said she's trying to get in touch with social workers and foster families in the area to help them as well.
She hopes this story will not only inspire people to give back, but be reminded how small acts of kindness make a difference.
"I hope this makes people say 'hey, it's really easy to do something like this. Be nice, kind and share what you can. Give what you can."
Maisie Peterson has set up a Facebook page to help facilitate donations and giveaways. Click here to learn more.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.