U.S. Cellular helps Tri-City girls say yes to the dress

An organized act of kindness has earned three Tri-Cities Prep seniors some national attention.

Kenzie Mills, Ally Moore and Yelfy Coffey, who coordinate the “Dresses for Hope” and “Exchange for Change” programs, were honored by U.S. Cellular’s The Future of Good program.

Dresses for Hope allows students to choose a dress for free. Exchange for Change lets girls swap out old dresses for something new.

The wireless carrier gave $1,000 to each charity, which helps high school students get a prom or homecoming dress and accessories for free.

“We really enjoy getting dressed up and going to prom and homecoming, and we wanted others to be able to do that too,” Mills said. “We don’t want anyone to miss attending prom because they couldn’t afford to buy a dress.”

The three girls, who are using the programs as their senior projects, said they were anonymously nominated for the award.

While the project is a group effort, each girl will do her own presentation “so that each unique voice is heard,” Principal Arlene Jones said.

The trio said about 30 girls came in and got dresses, including a group of five from Hermiston.

“We had a lot of pretty dresses,” Coffey said. “It would be cool if we could get more accessories.”

That’s where the money will come in handy.

“We are starting a fund to put the money in,” Mills said. “That way, people can donate to the fund if they want.”

Mills said the group was going to give it to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton & Franklin Counties, and to My Friends Place.

It will be used to help with hair, makeup and accessories like corsages.

The girls had about 220 dresses at their September event, but they are looking for more for their Saturday drop-off event in preparation for prom in the spring.

“It just keeps getting bigger and bigger,” Mills said.

While people usually donate dresses of the latest fashion, Coffey said they get some “mother of the bride” dresses that in turn are donated to Goodwill.

“We have almost every size, but sometimes girls don’t find a style they like,” Coffey said. “We have a lot of small sizes, so getting a wider variety of sizes and styles would be nice. We get every type of girl.”

The drop-off event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cynergy Centre building, 4309 W. 27th Ave. Kennewick. They’ll have another event March 23.

Along with receiving $2,000 to help with the charities, the trio were featured on “The Future of Good,” a project of U.S. Cellular that highlights children who do good in the world.

“Yelfy’s, Mackenzie’s and Ally’s passion and commitment to help their fellow students are truly inspiring,” said Erryn Andersen, U.S. Cellular’s Northwest director of sales. “They are setting an incredible example for their peers and community.”

This story was originally published December 11, 2017 at 6:17 PM with the headline "U.S. Cellular helps Tri-City girls say yes to the dress."