Project Beauty Hosts Annual Prom Dress Drive
For the fifth year, Project Beauty is excited to host a special prom dress drive for deserving high school students.
The 501c3 nonprofit organization is affording students from around Dallas and beyond the grand opportunity to shop an array of dresses, jewelry, shoes and clutches throughout March 23rd at Plano’s Legacy West.
The partnership between Project Beauty and Legacy West serves to ensure the prom dress drive is a memorable and life-changing event. The goal is simple – help young women feel both beautiful and confident on their big night.
Project Beauty founder Jo Lam began the prom dress drive before the pandemic, and it was a sure success. The global health crisis, however, left Lam and her team uncertain if they’d bring it back.
“People started reaching out to us, sending messages about the prom shopping event,” Lam explains. “The event returned in 2021, with Project Beauty hosting shoppers. We did this without any partnerships. I knew we could have a greater impact if we collaborated with other prom events in Dallas.”
Collaboration proved to be just the remedy Lam and Project Beauty needed to help this event flourish.
In 2024, Project Beauty was recognized by United Way Dallas as “Social Innovator of the Year.” Through this recognition, Project Beauty and Comerica Bank joined forces to host an even greater event. With the assistance of Comerica Bank, the Dallas Public Library and the Boys and Girls Club – the 2024 event exceeded expectation.
To speak with Lam is to immediately understand her passion for helping others. When she began Project Beauty, her immediate mission was to assist survivors of trauma. As a survivor of domestic violence and trafficking, Lam recalls the experience of living in a shelter and navigating the healing process.
“Recognizing the healing gaps of the journey is so important,” Lam says. “In serving the shelter spaces and meeting moms – they would always bring up their children and many of them would share how their daughters had prom coming up.”
Lam didn’t attend her prom when she was in school. Her organization currently serves 14 shelters in the Dallas area. Visiting shelters and hearing that mothers wanted so badly to see their daughters attend prom encouraged her to do something to help. Because she would visit the shelters during school hours when the girls were away also made her want to meet these young people and share impactful messages with them.
The prom dress drive and shopping events have allowed Lam and her team to engage directly with the teens and help them with confidence and self-esteem. For a lot of girls, if they don’t have a lot growing up – they sometimes feel like they don’t deserve things. That is far from the truth, and Lam is dedicated to changing that mindset.
“It’s bigger than the dress,” Lam insists. “When we give someone a dress – it’s about believing in someone and providing the resources so they can experience a major milestone in their life no matter their circumstances.”
*Donations for the drive will be collected through March 23rd at Albion Fit in Legacy West.
Project Beauty is always looking for volunteers: https://www.theprojectbeauty.org/