Story and photos by
Annabella Mireles
It’s 5:30 in the morning on a normal Sunday. Most people might be tucked in their beds and plan on sleeping in on their last day of the weekend, however, on March 23, girls from El Paso and Juarez lined up at Ella Blu’s doorstep waiting to pick out a free prom dress.
As the girls wait in line and relish in anticipation, they’ll soon get the chance to look at organized racks of beautiful, gently used prom dresses ranging from all colors and patterns. Upon entering, the girls will have 25 minutes to choose and try on a dress and take home a practically new dress, alleviating some of the pressure of spending money.
As incredible as this event is, it’s even more incredible to know that high school juniors, Amelie Perches, Natalia Espino, Lucia Urrea, and Gianna Guerra organized it for their organization Belle of the Ball.
“It’s a known organization across the country, but we decided to bring it to El Paso because we really saw a need for it and we thought it was a really important mission to help our community,” Espino said.
The chapter started two years ago when Perches, the now President of the organization, brought the idea up to her friends.
“Amelie is the one who brought the idea to us since her cousin Sophia had done it a couple years back when she was younger,” Urrea said. She gave the idea to Amelie who then gave the idea to us. Her sister has also been a great help and has been like a sponsor to us since she helps us organize and gives us suggestions.”
“We are a group of best friends,” Guerra said. “We go to Loretto Academy, which helps us since community service is something we are already used to and enjoy doing. At Belle of the Ball, our mission is to help girls across El Paso who need dresses and might need a little extra help, and we want to help them.”
In order to set up the event, the girls received help from Ella Blu, Bridal Novias, and of course the community who donated hundreds of dresses to the organization’s cause.
“Amelie’s family has helped us a lot since her aunt is the owner of Ella Blu and has really helped us with our mission,” Urrea said. “Having them as a drop off location has helped us a lot and it takes so much off our shoulders. We’re always open to picking up donations but having drop off locations has just made it so much easier on us and that’s thanks to having a good relationship with Sophia from Ella Blue and Elodia from Bridal Novias.”
“It’s surprising how many people want to help,” Guerra said. “We get DMs all the time from girls from other schools wanting to donate dresses. It’s so heartwarming to see how many girls want to help. We also call schools and email flyers so we can spread information on donation spots.”
Just one dress can truly make a difference in a girl’s life.
What we wear and how we feel in what we wear can be important, especially to high school girls getting ready for their Senior prom. However, as we know, clothes don’t come cheap, but Belle of the Ball helps them become free.
“It might seem like not that big of an issue and some people might say ‘oh, it’s just a prom dress’, but for a lot of girls, prom is something they look forward to since they were little,” Espino said. “It’s such a big life event and everyone wants to have a good prom memory. We want every girl to be able to have a good experience and the cost of a prom dress shouldn’t be a burden. This is helpful for those girls that need the extra help. Being able to make a difference is our goal.”
Not only did donations from Sophia Adamson and Elodia Perches from Ella Blu and Bridal Novias help the organization stock up on beautiful and stylish dresses, but so did the help of the ambassadors who make up the organization, and also served as personal stylists during the event, helping girls find their sizes and dream dress.
The organization has nearly doubled their donations since last year; the four have partly attributed this success to social media, specifically Fitfam.
“It’s important to put a face to a name so all these girls see that we’re girls just like them,” Espino said about their social media presence. Once Fitfam posted about them, Urrea said that’s when their follower count grew. “Them posting us had a great impact. It’s cool that so many people in a single community can come together and help in that way.”
Although it’s not easy organizing an event at this caliber, especially while in high school, these young women say staying motivated is easy.
“Last year, one of the first girls I spoke to told me that she had been struggling with medical bills,” Espino said. “She said how grateful she was for the burden of buying a prom dress to be lifted off her shoulders. There’s so many girls with stories like that and it’s nice to be able to help girls we’ve never even met before.”
