KYLE KELLAMS: This is Ozarks at Large. As prom season approaches, many young women are unable to afford a gown, while many gowns previously worn are just hanging idly in closets. Enter Gownsational, the program now in its third year intended to bring those gowns and women together. Gowns can be donated at several locations across Northwest Arkansas, and on Saturday, March 7, the third annual event will be at First National Bank on Steele Boulevard in Fayetteville. I recently talked with the program's founder, Queenie BE, about how fast her idea became a big deal.
QUEENIE BE: So much more than we had anticipated. I mean, I came up with the idea with some friends for this dress drive on Jan. 24, 2024, and by March 8, which was our first event, we had something like 600 prom gowns, and we had done 12 media interviews. We had worked with 70 local businesses. Yeah, it was huge. And like I said, you know, it was reported nationwide. So it was incredible. And all in five weeks, six weeks.
KELLAMS: So now you're in year three. You didn't decide a week ago to do this. How does that help build momentum?
BE: Oh my gosh, so much more experience. It's the same volunteers, most of us single moms, volunteers. And so like we got a rhythm now. Like we know what needs to happen and we've got some new helpers. But yeah, we kind of know what needs to happen now. For instance, working with the drop-off locations, which we came up with the first year, has made such a difference because it's made it so much easier for the donors, which are you or me or whoever has a gown in their closet, to drop it off somewhere really close to their house. Make it easy.
KELLAMS: As we get to year three, the mission is still the same, right? What was sort of the inspiration back in January 2024?
BE: Yeah, so I have a single moms group on Facebook, and there was a mom that made a post, and she was sort of grieving out loud that she couldn't afford to pay the mortgage that month. There was no way that she could spend several hundred dollars on a prom gown for her daughter. And her daughter was going to graduate that year, and she was saying, I just feel like a failure because I can't even buy my daughter a prom gown. And I just remember thinking, there are so many of us that have a gown in our closet. How do I get the gowns in your closet that are gathering dust and they're going to end up in a landfill when they go out of style? Like, how do I get that gown into the hands of a teen like this who could really benefit from it? And it took off. Yeah. So now we've given out hundreds of prom gowns. I'm so grateful that we have partnered with some other local nonprofits to even find a good place to put the leftover gowns after our one-day event.
KELLAMS: You mentioned style. I mean, gowns' styles change, but they don't change overnight.
BE: Oh, no, not at all. Well, and some of them are like they're coming back in style, so like, we'll get some dresses donated from the early 2000s. And those are the first ones to go because that's coming back. So yeah. Yeah. It's bee awesome to see.
KELLAMS: How do people donate?
BE: So it's super simple. We have drop-off locations throughout Northwest Arkansas, small local businesses that have partnered with us. We put a rack in their lobby or what have you, and you just walk in, drop off a gown and walk out. You can go to Gownsational.com to learn about the drop-off locations like the Haley Boutique in Rogers, like Third Space Coffee in Bentonville, like Body Balance Medspa in Fayetteville. We've got 10 or 12.
KELLAMS: So if someone's hearing this and maybe they have a gown that is got a few years on it, that's okay.
BE: You know what? You'd be surprised at the ones that the girls like. So don't discount it. I would say the biggest thing is we do want gowns that are actual gowns for a semi-formal or a formal event, more than something that, say, you'd wear to church or you'd wear for a business meeting. I think prom?
KELLAMS: Yeah. Think prom. Exactly. What you'd wear to prom. Yeah. What is the gown event like this year? It's on March 7.
BE: Yeah, this year it's on March 7 at First National Bank. They have been so generous to open their doors for us. And so you're going to show up. Think of a luxurious event. The girls come in, you know, they get to choose from rack after rack of gorgeous gowns. We have big mirrors for them to twirl in front of. We've got these super cute pop-up dressing rooms. And so our goal is to make this feel like a high-end luxury event, not a here, take your gown and be grateful, but something that's not a warehouse.
KELLAMS: Exactly, no. And we're going to have a balloon arch where you can take photos.
BE: I found my gown, and then we'll have gown garment bags so that you don't get it dirty as you're getting it in the car and stuff. So yeah, it's going to be awesome.
KELLAMS: I walk in with my daughter or my niece or someone. What will I expect to pay for the gown?
BE: Zero dollars, zero cents. Or as the teenagers say, free ninety-nine. So yeah, this is a blessing. We are a zero finances nonprofit, meaning we don't accept financial donations. We don't need financial donations. Everything that is done is done strictly in the name of I want to help these teens feel just as special and important on this landmark event as any other teen. And so, yeah, completely free. Completely.
KELLAMS: When you and I spoke in 2024 —
BE: Yes.
KELLAMS: — the idea was really fresh. You were just gaining momentum.
BE: Oh my God. Yeah. I think you were so kind to give us traction when this idea was two weeks old or something like that. Yeah. So you hadn't had a sensational event yet?
KELLAMS: We hadn't.
BE: No. What was that first one like?
KELLAMS: Oh my gosh. Chaos. It was a little bit of chaos. If you're listening and you were at the first one and you think, wow, we just didn't know. So like, originally we just opened the doors at one — and we or I think it was 10, we opened the doors at 10 o'clock and we said, everyone, you can come shop anywhere from 10 to 2. Everyone came at 10 because they're like, we want the first pick. And so now we have like half-an-hour slots. So this many people come at 1 o'clock, this many people come at 1:30, this many people come at 2. So that it's not like a frenzy all at once, but we kind of space it out. Makes it easier for the girls. They can have more of an experience and not feel frantic about it.
BE: You know, how many people are there? How many helpers do you have?
KELLAMS: We'll have quite a few helpers. People are super generous and so we'll have some helpers that are — their whole thing is to hang up the gowns, and then they put them on a rack outside the dressing room, and then other helpers that will hang those back up, make sure the sizes are in the right sizes. So yeah, I mean, we'll probably have 15 or 20 helpers there that day. We'll have one girl whose sole job is to put the gowns that have been chosen into a garment bag, and one girl that takes photos. Yeah, so 15 or 20.
BE: I imagine a lot of the intimidation has gone.
KELLAMS: Yeah. If you're thinking about spending a lot of money on a dress you might wear once, once, maybe twice, I don't know.
BE: You know, what's fantastic is you would be shocked at the number of gowns that we get donated that still have a tag on. They've literally never been worn. They are Sherri Hill, which is — I didn't know this before, but I know this now. The name in prom gowns is Sherri Hill.
KELLAMS: Oh, really? Okay, I have one hanging up.
BE: Actually, there's one I saw at Body Balance as someone hung up. It still has a $500 price tag on it. It's never been worn. Gorgeous. And some teen that could never have — I mean, isn't that wonderful?
KELLAMS: Yeah. Isn't that wonderful?
BE: I guess you haven't been around long enough to see one gown that might get taken, worn at a prom and then come back?
KELLAMS: Oh, no. Well, we have seen now even our second year. Some people said, here, I'm dropping this off because I used it and I'm going to come get a new one at the event. Yeah, absolutely. And not to mention, you know, we need to lean into it more. And we've talked about it, but keeping it out of a landfill.
BE: Yeah. Right. Instead of fast fashion, we are saying, okay, we're going to take this, we're going to reuse it, keep it out of the landfill.
KELLAMS: You know, it's wonderful. Everything about it from, you know, helping these teens feel elevated. Some of them, you know, some of them are just girls that are a little bit, you know, their parents can't afford something expensive. Some of them are in some pretty tragic circumstances. I'll be honest with you. We work closely with DHS. I'm so proud with the dresses we've been able to donate to, for instance, the Children's Safety Center, Dress for Success, Beautiful Lives. I can't put food in their belly, and I can't put a roof over their head. But what I can say is, you deserve to feel fabulous, just like everyone else. And I'm going to do my darndest to make it happen.
Queenie Be is the founder and director of Gownsational. Now in its third year, there are eight drop-off locations across Northwest Arkansas. You can find the list at the Gownsational Facebook and Instagram pages and at Gownsational.com. This year's event takes place Saturday, March 7, at First National Bank on Steele Boulevard in Fayetteville from 1 until 4. She spoke with me earlier this month.
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