The Brooklyn Prom & Scholarship Project is Accepting Donations Now

Prom is, perhaps, one of the biggest moments in a teen's life. But imagine, if you were a teen, and the only thing standing in the way of attending prom was not whether you had a date, but whether you could afford to buy a dress or tuxedo.

Well, local resident Bernice Foster Malone decided to set up a charitable fund, The Brooklyn Prom & Scholarship Project. The program was established as a small charity to teach her daughter (who was 6 at the time), how to give back to the community and also make sure that all teen girls in Brooklyn who wished to attend their proms, could do so, despite their financial circumstance.

"Along with teaching my young daughter how to be an entrepreneur, I wanted her to understand the importance of giving back to the community and how important it is to help others," said Malone.

The Brooklyn Prom Project was founded in spring 2010 as the charitable arm of Dazzle Divaz, a dress-up, glamour and spa party service for girls 4-14

The goal of the Brooklyn Prom & Scholarship Project is to provide financially challenged teens in Brooklyn with attire for Prom. Monetary donations are also welcome for tuxedo and suit rentals for young men.

The Brooklyn Prom & Scholarship Project is seeking donations of gently used social occasion dresses, shoes, accessories and beauty products to distribute to Brooklyn teen girls for the 2011 prom season. Financial donations are also welcome for book scholarships for college bound students.

Items can be dropped off at the following Bed-Stuy locations:

• House of Art (373 Lewis Ave, corner of Macon St.) Bed Stuy
• Tin City (366 Lewis Ave between Macon St and Halsey St.) Bed Stuy
• Deluxe Hair Gallery (704 Fulton between So. Oxford and So. Portland) Fort Greene

All items will be distributed to students for FREE on Saturday May 14th. If the drop off locations are not convenient, donors can call and arrange to have the items picked up from their homes.

"This project serves a need in our community," said Malone. "We do our best to help alleviate the cost of prom for teens and their family by assisting with formal attire so that they may attend one of the most important social events of their teen life."

For more information, email Brooklynprom@ aol.com or call 1-877-329-9953.