“A new dress makes you feel really good about yourself,” according to 14-year-old Tatum Rudman.
Rudman, who is an eighth grader at Elm Place Middle School, wants other girls to experience that same feeling. That’s what motivated Rudman and her mom, Jill to start collecting gently used dresses for her school’s upcoming Day of Giving, an annual event where families in need can come to the school and take home food, other clothing, coats, books, toiletries, toys and books.
“I’m excited that we are going to bring so much happiness to girls who can’t otherwise have a new dress,” said Rudman, who explained that she and her mom have been hard at work soliciting dress donations by emailing, texting and calling fellow students, friends and community members.
As a result of their efforts, the Rudman’s basement currently contains over 200 dresses.
“Everything we have received is current and in excellent condition,” Jill said. “They have only been worn a couple of times and several of the dresses still have tags on them.”
Rudman said the idea for the dress drive stemmed from last year’s Day of Giving, when she donated a dress she had outgrown.
“The next week, my teacher came up to me and said that she ran into the girl who took home the dress and that she was wearing it,” said Rudman. “The girl hugged my teacher and said it was the best dress she ever had. That made me feel great.”
“She went to over 100 Bar and Bat Mitzvahs last year, and so we were constantly buying dresses,” said Jill, who with her husband, Peter has two other teenage daughters and a son. “We thought, ‘What are these kids going to do with all of these dresses? Wouldn’t this be a nice thing to do for our community?’”
For Day of Giving, the Rudman’s plan to turn the school library into a boutique atmosphere with mirrors, fitting rooms and rolling racks that will hold all the dresses on hangars.
“Everything will be steamed and organized and girls can come in and try them on,” Jill said.
Day of Giving, which will take place the morning of Dec. 6, is an annual event that was started four years ago by school principal, Richard Schroeder, and three teachers, Kim Allen, Amanda Wiehl and Melissa Arof.
“Elm Place has seen a huge growth of students who are in our free and reduced lunch program, said Arof, who is the key organizer of the event. “The number is around 17 percent. This is an event that has come to be something the community truly appreciates and that it now depends on.”
Arof said that in addition to helping those in need, Day of Giving benefits the students, all who are permitted to volunteer the day before the event, making lunches and organizing the items in the gym.
“It helps kids realize that there are kids in their own community who aren’t as fortunate as they are,” Arof said. “It teaches them how important it is to give back.”
Day of Giving takes place from 7-10 a.m. on Dec. 6. The district is also donating a bus to pick up families in the area who want to attend. Last year, the event drew 111 families.
“Seeing Tatum get inspiration from her experience shows that this event is paying off for our kids,” Arof said. “It’s wonderful.”
If you are interested in donating a dress, contact the Rudman family a JillB0709@gmail.com. Elm Place is also still taking donations.