‘Happyness Blooms’ for girls with prom dreams

Tim Forsberg
Posted 4/14/15

The natural beauty that blossomed during last Sunday’s fabulous spring day was reflected in the look and smiles of the young Warwick women who participated in Happyness Blooms’ Fairy Godmother …

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‘Happyness Blooms’ for girls with prom dreams

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The natural beauty that blossomed during last Sunday’s fabulous spring day was reflected in the look and smiles of the young Warwick women who participated in Happyness Blooms’ Fairy Godmother Event.

 Warwick’s Happyness Blooms Inc., a non-profit organization, is a recent collaboration between five women of the Warwick Veterans High School Class of 1982. They envision prom gowns and accessories being given free to Warwick girls who may not attend their school’s proms due to financial challenges.

“This started as a vision just about a year ago, we had done something similar but on a much grander scale in Boston,” said Happyness Bloom’s president Lisa Puglia Gretchner, referring to Bella of the Ball, an organization which cleans and distributes prom dresses at no charge to high schoolgirls.

“We were so pumped up and touched to see and help so many girls who otherwise might not have been able to go to the prom because they couldn’t afford it. It crushed us that somebody might not have the opportunity to go to the prom just because they couldn’t have a dress.”

 Looking to do more, the women formed a non-profit that would provide the same services here in Warwick. For the past year, they’ve worked with the community to collect donations of quality new and gently used formal dresses and gowns and accessories, obtaining more than 300 dresses during that time. Sunday’s boutique day event at Warwick’s Fraternal Order of Police was a culmination of their work.

“I think one of our biggest challenges was making sure we had a variety of dresses so we could support the needs of the girls,” said board member Dawn Engelhardt before the event. “For girls, it’s not picking out the first dress they see - they may look at 10 to 15 dresses before they get the right one. In order to do that, we had to expand our variety, and that’s a challenge.”

A prom expenses can snowball quickly. Haircuts and styling, makeup, jewelry, accessories, gowns, alterations, and other costs can add up to several hundred dollars, if not more. Typically, Warwick’s prom season occurs in May.

Thirty girls from all three of Warwick’s high school were selected for the event. The organization relied on recommendations submitted from school officials, counselors, social service agencies, parents and others when selecting its recipients. Referral forms were completed by those parties, and reviewed by the Happyness Blooms board to ensure all circumstances are carefully considered.

“Our initial goal was to have 50 girls, but we didn’t know how it would all turn out during our first year,” said Puglia Gretchner. “Even if we only had one girl, that’s one more who’ll have the prom experience.”

Upon arrival at the daylong event, participants were escorted to a reception area and paired with a community volunteer acting as a personal shopper.  That shopper would then assist their partner as they were pampered through the day - from dress selection and fitting, to accessory selection, onto makeup and hairstyle tips, and then to a photo shoot. A professional in each field operated a stop.

“This was a great way to help somebody, and a picture shows so much and is such a great memory,” said photographer Josh Edenbaum, who donated his services for the event. “We sometimes take things for granted, so it’s nice to give back, and today’s totally worth it.”

The feature of the event, the girls’ gowns, would not have been available without the help of Sandy Kohlman at Majestic Cleaners. The store served as a drop off center for dresses, and Sandy personally cleaned and prepared each one for several months. 

“It was good work, fun work, it was my pleasure to do it and I’d love to do this again,” said Kohlman during the event. “What made it nice was every dress was different, and every day spent preparing the dresses was something different.”

Girls can keep their dress, or may pay it forward and return it for future use. Many of the mothers, aunts, and grandmothers who accompanied their guest were touched and grateful for all that was done for their young lady.

Ashley Gouveia, a Toll Gate senior, was paired with volunteer personal shopper Patricia Verria-Mignella. While most of the girls were camera shy and preferred to keep their prom dress choice a secret until their big day, event organizers and volunteers’ jaws dropped when Ashley modeled her final selection in the spring’s afternoon sunshine.

“I feel so happy, she looks so gorgeous and she is such a nice person,” said Verria-Mignella of her experience. “I’m so happy to be a part of her day.”

Ashley tried on four or five different dresses before selecting a tastefully sequined purple dress that stunningly transformed the young woman.

“This was fun, it was a great experience today,” said Ashley. “I love the dress, I love the color, everything about it. Today was fantastic.”

Looking ahead, the crew at Happyness Blooms hopes their efforts become a reoccurring event in the city.

“This was a passion, and we really worked from our hearts,” said Puglia Gretchner. “We’re looking forward to years two and three.”

For additional information, visit Happyness Bloom’s website at happynessblooms.wix.com/fairy-godmothers-ri or email happynessblooms@gmail.com.

 

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