Operation Prom National Network<\/a>, is held all over the country for disadvantaged students. For 14 consecutive years, the Brooklyn Prom Project has been opening its doors to students at different Brooklyn venues, but this is the first year the event was being held at the Barclays Center \u2014 and it became the city\u2019s biggest ever prom giveaway to date.<\/p>\nDr. Shaniqua Schloss (L) and Dawn Simon (R) were thrilled with this year\u2019s massive turnout. Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n
Throughout the day, the director of the Brooklyn Prom Project, Dawn Simon and over 350 volunteers helped students look through the clothes on the racks and accessories like shoes, purses, silk scarves, jewelry, tiaras, gloves, and even make-up on tables.<\/p>\n
Aside from everything being free of charge, the event organizers do their best to make the students feel celebrated once they find their prom night look.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students shop at the racks, go to the dressing room, and when they say, \u2018This is it,\u2019 they tell the volunteers, and from the dressing room all the way down to the red carpet, we cheer them on with bells and whistles, Dr. Shaniqua Schloss, one of the organizers, explained to The Post. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The annual event helps relieve students from the financial burden prom night can put on them. Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n
Students like Miriam Sow, 17, are beyond grateful for the opportunity \u201cbecause finding a good prom dress is expensive, especially for low-income families,\u201d she told The Post as she was waiting in line for her big red carpet moment. \u201cSenior year has just been very expensive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Samantha Rios, 19, agrees: \u201cI really appreciate that there is an event that gives free prom stuff. It\u2019s very difficult to afford these things.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rios walked into Sunday\u2019s event knowing she wanted to try on pink and white gowns. \u201cThose are my favorite colors. All my clothes are white and pink. I love them because they show my femininity,\u201d said Rios. She also picked up a pair of white fingerless lace gloves before she got in line for the dressing room.<\/p>\n
This was the first time the event was held at Barclays Center. Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n
Christine Delius, one of the volunteers at the accessories table, even noticed a few fashion trends while watching the students pick out their prom looks. \u201cKids have been taking a lot of gloves, which I didn\u2019t think was a thing in 2026, but apparently people still like gloves,\u201d she told The Post. \u201cMy mom would be happy to hear that, \u2019cause I didn\u2019t wear gloves at my prom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students had the opportunity to choose from a wide selection of accessories. Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n
For Delius, it was an \u201camazing experience\u201d to support the students. \u201cIt\u2019s a joy to see the kids come in and get something that they didn\u2019t have to pay for. It also alleviates the financial burden for parents. Prom is a rite of passage, and everybody deserves to have a magical night, so we\u2019re just helping to be able to do that free of charge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shoe selection was massive. Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n
Finding something to wear that the students feel comfortable and confident in is important, so they were encouraged to take their time shopping through all the different options in the room.<\/p>\n
It took some time until Jayden Parris, 17, found a tuxedo that fit him just right. \u201cHe has broad shoulders,\u201d said volunteer George Myrie, who had been helping him. \u201cBut we found a tuxedo with a peak lapel, single-breasted, some Florsheim shoes, a bow tie, and a white shirt from Portobello.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jayden Parris was beyond excited to FaceTime his mom and show off his selected prom night fit. Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n
Parris called his mother on FaceTime to show her the final look, who was crying when she saw her beaming son. \u201cDon\u2019t cry, mom. \u201cDon\u2019t cry!\u201d he said, trying to console her. \u201cI\u2019m really excited now for my prom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Volunteers helped the students get fitted for tuxedos and suits. Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, a New York Liberty basketball player, attended the event to show her support. \u201cProm, when I was in high school, was a big deal for me.\u201d Laney-Hamilton told the Post. \u201cSo the fact that these kids are able to come here, grab some free dresses, accessories, and shoes, and are able to feel their most confident selves, I think it\u2019s a really great thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was hard to deny the excitement in the air at Sunday\u2019s event. Stephon Cruz, 17, was getting his neck measured by volunteer Drew Felton to feel like his most confident self on prom night, while Madison Evans, 18, laid her eyes on a sparkling red silk gown and knew that it was the winner.<\/p>\n
Stephon Cruz (L) getting measured for his prom tux by volunteer designer Drew Felton (R). Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cI was going for a Sahara desert look,\u201d the Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School student said. \u201cHopefully, I can find a veil,\u201d she said as she followed one of the volunteers to the accessories tables.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the other side of the room, identical twins Kayla and Kyla Stoudymire were being applauded when they found their dresses.<\/p>\n
Madison Evans (L) posing with a friend after the two girls found their prom dresses. Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n
The twins\u2019 mother, Jenni Manley, told The Post that she let the girls pick their own dresses. \u201cMommy had nothing to do with it or they would have been matching.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir school, A. Philip Randolph Campus High School in Harlem, informed us [about the event]\u2026. So we decided to get dressed this morning and come out, and it was the best decision ever.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Twins Kyla (L) and Kayla (M) Stoudymire happily posing in their stunning gowns. Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n
Kyla chose a pink sequin dress with a corset top, while her twin sister Kayla found an orange tuff dress. \u201cI felt like nobody would want to pick this color because it\u2019s orange\u2026. But I felt like this color is really beautiful and is something that nobody would wear.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am so happy,\u201d Manley said. \u201cMy girls are going to college\u2026 Everything was beautiful today. Staff and everything. Just wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a prom dream come true. The distraction of 1,000 NYC high school students chatting, giggling and simultaneously…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":165281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3353,68,3741,11182,232,57,9,24,56,63,65,64,30117],"class_list":["post-165280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-barclays-center","tag-exclusive","tag-fashion-beauty","tag-high-schools","tag-lifestyle","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-prom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}