Dreams of dresses
CAROLYN BOSTICK | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 months AGO
Members of the Ant’oqmi’wes club, also known as United Together pose with their sign during a fundraiser.
The club focuses on cultivating community and inclusivity at Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy.
Pictured: Ally Kline, Alexandra Turcan, Piper Judd, Emma Anderson, Dani Edmiston, Peyton Duffield, Ava Duffy, Elisa Bright(teacher), Mariel Palmer-Kamprath. Felicia Wirth, Maddie Daigle, and holding the sign, Abigail Fitzgerald and Ari Begalman (club leaders).
Courtesy photo
Carolyn Bostick has worked for the Coeur d’Alene Press since June 2023. She covers Shoshone County and Coeur d'Alene. Carolyn previously worked in Utica, New York at the Observer-Dispatch for almost seven years before briefly working at The Inquirer and Mirror in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Since she moved to the Pacific Northwest from upstate New York in 2021, she's performed with the Spokane Shakespeare Society for three summers. | March 23, 2024 1:08 AM
COEUR d’ALENE — Members of the Ant’oqmi’wes club were looking for a way to help their peers that tied in with spring.
The Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy students put their heads together and came up with the idea to run a prom dress drive for the community. The group, led by seniors Abigail Fitzgerald and Ari Begalman, also goes by the United Together club.
“It’s about enforcing the idea of how important it is to repurpose clothes and also save money on these things because people spend so much money on dresses to only wear them once,” Fitzgerald said.
With prom season in full swing, the students acted fast to stage dress drop-offs and make arrangements for teens to attend a pop-up prom dress event April 1 at North Idaho College.
“This is something no one’s really done before (at our school) so it’s kind of a shot in the dark,” Fitzgerald said.
If you happen to have one or more formal/semi formal dresses in your closet collecting dust, the group is hoping to put them to use.
The Ant’oqmi’wes club has hosted fundraisers for nonprofits like Safe Passage, but they were excited to take their hand at direct action by setting up a way for other students to find prom dresses without breaking the bank.
The community action and engagement connects back to the central mission of the club.
“What the club stands for basically is creating a sense of community and inclusivity in our school,” Fitzgerald said.
If you have dresses to donate, the group is hosting a drop-off day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 26.
“People can come and drop off whenever they want to. We have a lot of friends who have dresses that we’re going to be getting, too,” Fitzgerald said.
The prom dress distribution event Monday, April 1, at NIC holds an open invitation to any teens in the community.
“Anyone from any school is welcome to come and find a dress,” Fitzgerald said.
To donate
Drop off your gently worn prom dresses from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, at Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy, 4904 N. Duncan Drive.
To receive a prom dress
Attend the pop-up prom dress event from 2 to 6 p.m. Monday, April 1, at the Student Union Building at North Idaho College.
Info: Abigail Fitzgerald, abbyfitz0106@gmail.com.
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