Salisbury Prom dress donation service helps 48 students this year
Project Prom offers donated attire to students for free
A Prom attire organisation in Salisbury has helped nearly 50 students this year, just over a year after setting up.
Project Prom, run by Vicki Jacobs, provides donated prom dresses and suits to students in Salisbury – and all for free!
After helping a friend find her daughter a dress, Vicki considered how she could help others too, settling on the idea of Project Prom in her garden.
She found that shops selling prom attire were scarce in Salisbury.
“I found a place in Andover that did something that I'd sort of thought of doing, so I went to see her to see how she'd got it set up, how it worked, and she gave me a lot of great advice.
“That was back in 2022, and the idea was I'd sort of set up and be ready for 2023, but I set up a Facebook account and started receiving messages immediately ask them for help, and I only managed to help four people last year because obviously it was never my intention to start in 2022.”
How Project Prom works
Running the project from her garage and pop-up events around Salisbury, Vicki assists students on their journey to finding the right outfit for the big night.
The children can try on the dresses or suits when they come to see what’s on offer and if they find something they like, they’re able to take it home free of charge.
“Not many people knew it was free,” Vicki explained, adding: “There was one pop up event where a mum came back for it with a bunch of flowers for myself and my mum just to say thank you.”
Donations are left at Vicki’s house, ideally in good, clean condition and dropped off before 6:30pm – if it’s after that time, they can be left in her black recycling box.
Vicki ensures all outfits are in their best condition with the help of Nu Clean, the dry-cleaning company on Fisherton Street, free of charge.
A common question she’s asked is what donations Project Prom is taking, she said: “I’m looking for longer length dresses, sparkles are very popular with the girls at the moment. I’m really struggling with smaller sizes at the moment.”
She added that any size would be accepted, saying her range goes up to a size 24.
Vicki says she wants to cater more for boys as well, with only one rail available, which includes three-piece suits, tuxedo’s and a kilt suit!
All the team at Project Prom are volunteers, with Vicki being helped by her mum and some other friends and family.
But seeing the joy on the parent’s faces is all worth it she says, “That is one of the best parts is just seeing how grateful and thankful people are and knowing that it's me and my team that have done that because I don't just do this on my own.”
Is a shop on the way?
And what of the future? Vicki says she’d love to have a shop.
“When students and families come in, they get that full experience of trying on a prom dress in a shop setting, where all the dresses are laid out and the suits are on display.
“At the moment, whilst the pop-events are ok, its hard to secure venues and it takes up a lot of time as well.”
To help achieve this ambition, Vicki is planning some fund raising events, including a dinner and a dance in October. The money raised would go towards securing premises and paying the rent on that space, as well as more outfits and rails.