Central Florida students are receiving free prom attire and accessories from 26Health, a nonprofit health care organization that donated 325 items to help families avoid spending hundreds of dollars on formal wear. The initiative, called Operation Prom, operates from a location on Magnolia Avenue in Orlando and aims to ensure students can attend their proms without financial barriers.
“You know prom suits are so expensive. It’s $111 for a ticket for a prom. Imagine buying a couple hundred suits, you want to make sure your kids look snazzy. They don’t want to go without looking like a nice suit. It’s such a blessing. I’m so grateful for it,” said George LaComb, a student at Lake Buena Vista High School. The average prom dress costs $150 to $300, while tuxedo rentals can cost $200 or more, especially for designer options.
“Without this, I don’t think I would have had a prom suit, or at least a nice one for our prom. So I’m really grateful that my mom was able to get me a suit and I’m able to go wear something nice to our prom,” LaComb said. His mother, Joanne LaComb, searched for special prom attire for both George and her daughter Elizabeth at the Operation Prom location.
Derrion Bivins, a student at Evans High School, expressed similar gratitude for the program that allowed him to attend his prom. “Actually, it’s crazy, I wasn’t going to go to prom because I couldn’t afford a suit, so like an hour or two, it came in my email, ‘Oh, mom, I can go, you just got to buy the ticket.’ I can go. It’s like, yeah, we was happy,” Bivins said. “That’s great because the tickets are expensive. Yeah, it’s $130 per person.”
“We believe in giving back to the community, so this was a brainchild of our staff, and they wanted to be able to do something for individuals who may not have had the funds to participate in prom,” said Latrice Stewart, 26Health president and CEO. The organization collected the 325 donated items through a social media request that reached 26Health employees and partners.
Both LaComb and Bivins are scheduled to attend their respective proms on April 11, with LaComb’s event at Lake Buena Vista High School and Bivins’ at Evans High School. This marks 26Health’s first year organizing the prom attire donation program, which Stewart described as an incredible experience that aligns with the organization’s mission of giving back to the community.