Over 75 dresses, plus shoes, purses, jewelry, and other accessories are available for loan at the cvFree Prom Closet in Norwich. Currently, two open houses are scheduled: Tuesday, March 29 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 3 from 2 to 5 p.m. No appointments are needed, and attendees will be paired with a volunteer to try on dresses. (Submitted photo)

NORWICH — With prom season fast approaching, local Methodist church cvFree is hosting two open houses at their Prom Closet, established in their main church campus at 4299 NY-23 in Norwich.

The first open house is scheduled for Tuesday, March 29 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and the second is scheduled for Sunday, April 3 from 2 to 5 p.m. No appointment is necessary to attend, according to Ministry Lead Alexis Race.

"Anybody can come at any time between that time frame. We have volunteers there, that way you get a one-on-one situation," explained Race. "You tell the volunteer, almost like you’re dress shopping, the color that you want, the style you’re looking for, if you want strapless, if you want a long [dress], we have short gowns too. And then that volunteer kind of guides you in the right direction of where the dresses are, what section to look in, and then they’ll help you try them on if you need help getting zipped. All that good stuff. We have mirrors set up, you get your own private room. So it’s set up just like you’re dress shopping with a consultant almost, with the volunteer."

The Prom Closet has over 75 prom dresses, plus shoes, jewelry, purses, and other accessories available to be borrowed. A $25 deposit is required when items are loaned out, but refunded after borrowed items are returned.

"There’s a $25 deposit, but that deposit they get back when they return the dress, as long as there’s no significant damage done to it," said Race. "That includes shoes, accessories, jewelry, purses. Whatever else you want to take from the Closet is all included in that $25 deposit, and you do get that back when you return everything."

Race stressed that the Closet is open to anyone who needs a dress, and there are no criteria for borrowing. Ultimately, she and her volunteers are there to provide a fun and special experience to those searching for a dress.

"The most important thing that I want people to know about this ministry is that there’s no criteria as far as who can come get a dress. It’s open to anybody and I just want it to be a really special experience for them, as if they were going to get one from an actual dress store," she said. "I try to decorate it really nice and cute, and I put mirrors up, and I make sure they all have their own individual room, and I try to make sure everybody has their own one-on-one volunteers to help them get the perfect dress that they want, and that they leave happy. So that’s the most important thing."

For those who can't make the upcoming open houses, Race said to contact the cvFree Prom Closet Facebook page to set up an appointment. She plans to host more open houses in the coming months as well.

"I would encourage them to reach out to the Prom Closet on our Facebook page. Send us a message, and just let us know that they weren’t able to make it. We could set up an appointment with them and get a volunteer to meet them one-on-one," said Race. "There will be another open house date coming, I just started with those two to see what days and times works better for most people, and then I will schedule more accordingly. So don’t panic if you can’t make it to this one, there will be more opportunities."

The cvFree Prom Closet was established several years ago by a group of high schoolers who attended the church. Everything available at the Closet has been donated, and Race said the church is always looking for more donations.

"It was actually a group of high school girls who attended the church. They got the idea to get donated dresses and start handing them out, to loan, and then at the end of the prom they return them back to the Closet at the church. And just every year they kept getting more and more donations and it just kind of grew from there," Race explained. "They’re all beautiful, beautiful dresses. Some of them are new, with tags on it still. People have been very gracious with their donations.

"We will always gladly take dress donations as long as there’s no damage done to the dress. We don’t want to hand anything out that looks like it’s second hand," she added. "We want these girls to feel special, and get the exact same experience as if they’re going to an actual dress store to buy a dress."

Volunteering is always welcome at the Prom Closet as well. Race said those wishing to volunteer should contact the cvFree Prom Closet Facebook page, or call cvFree Church at 607-334-3073.

2022 marks Race's second year as Ministry Lead for the Prom Closet, but her first year of normal operations after COVID guidelines impacted how they could run things in 2021.

"This year is definitely different than being my first year as the Lead, because COVID precautions were still in place so we weren't able to do open houses," said Race. "So then when I took it over and we had to do something completely different and think outside the box, that was a little crazy at first. So I’m really excited for this year, to get back to how things are normally done."

"I hope we can hand out a lot of dresses this year. Last year we handed out ten, which is still a good number with COVID circumstances. So this year I would like to hand out more than ten," she added. "I’m really excited, I want to go big this year."