The Dresses and Dreams Project in partnership with Youth Leaders of Menifee and Visual Impact Photography will be honoring area teen girls who are graduating this year and have any type of hardship or challenging circumstance. 50 students will be selected to receive a dress or gown of choice, photography sitting, and a goody bag through our “Bless a Grad” outreach. We feel that aside from the uncertainty of these times, these graduates need to be recognized for their milestone accomplishments this year. So despite our Operation Prom Girl events that have been cancelled for the last two years, what a better way to reach out to show the love!
Application, here on this site, opens on March 1 through April 1. Selected applicants will be notified on April 17 via contact info provided, and announced on Instagram and other social media platforms.
Donations for goody bags are needed; we seek local business and community support to honor these girls this year, if you’d like to donate please contact dressesanddreamsproject@gmail.com
As spring appears as a glimpse in the doorway through the seasons and we get closer to shutting the door on a tough season and a gloomy winter, we want to recognize girls who are graduating this year with a FREE outreach and dress giveaway to honor them. In partnership with Youth Leaders of Menifee, we are blessing 50 teen girls to honor their huge accomplishment this year! We can only do this with a lot of support from the community after lockdowns jeopardized our ability to thrive financially. ( Read more below)
There are many ways to help. We are looking forward to our communities stepping up to offer financial support, gift cards, and assistance with items for 50 goodie bags that the girls will receive, along with a dress or gown of her choice and a photography sitting by our partners at Visual Impact Photography, Menifee.
*The focus is on girls who are somewhat local, as they will choose their gowns in the Inland Empire.
Please contact us for more information, at dressesanddreamsproject@gmail.com
Our Love Shouldn’t Hurt Workshop returns on February 27 at 10 am-noon! The class is free for teens and women, ages 15 and up. You will earn a certificate by attending this empowering class. Our workshop lead is Kimberly Anderson and features a segment from SAFE Family Justice Center. A testimony will be given by Dawn Schultz, founder of The Dresses and Dreams Project. To sign up, please RSVP by contacting dressesanddreamsproject@gmail.com. Community service hours can be earned by high school students taking this class.
We are inviting new volunteer prospects to join our sisterhood, as well as a fond welcome to seasoned volunteers. Do you have a passion for the mission and vision of our organization? Interested in helping out? To find out all about the Dresses and Dreams Project and the 2021 vision and opportunities to serve, please see the post below and email us for the zoom link for our first meeting of the year! Let’s spread hope and love and shine our lights, the world needs it and our youth certainly do. We will need approximately 50 volunteers for our grad event and dress giveaway in the spring!
From the wild ride of 2020 to pressing through the storm to see the sun shine again in 2021. Fiercely! Our vision is to have an event that will honor our Class of 2021 grad girls this year, as the uncertainty of prom and senior events have caused hope of these activities to fade as schools remain closed due to virus lockdowns.
Last year was a shock. No one knew what was next or how long of a season we were in for. This year, we want to say goodbye to 2020’s disappointments and hello to hope, courage, and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel because the guarantee is that the storm always ends. ALWAYS. So let’s have some fun and celebrate you grads and the wonder and potential the future has , with your name written all over it. It’s time to get excited again. It’s time to believe. To hope. To live. To dream.
With appropriate support and funding, we will plan an outdoor event and dress giveaway for the Class of 2021~ beautiful dress giveaway, photography, music, goodies, resources, referrals. You get it. Let’s honor you. Because that’s how we roll. We are the Dresses and Dreams Project. We’ve got the dresses. And your dreams matter.
To volunteer with The Dresses and Dreams Project, and help at this tentative event, please begin by filling out the volunteer form on this site, and attend the January 30 volunteer meeting on zoom. Potential volunteers will share any talent or treasure they have, and a few hours of their time a month. Many opportunities to serve! Stay tuned for more info!
The Dresses and Dreams Project has started a series of workshops called “Love Shouldn’t Hurt” where we have partnered with SAFE Family Justice Centers for a two hour class. Kimberly Anderson and Dawn Schultz of The Dresses and Dreams Project (and both survivors of DV) along with Aiko Holdaway of SAFE, Temecula Valley, were the instructors. The subject matter in these workshops are basic and in-depth education on domestic violence awareness and healthy relationships. Because of COVID restrictions, we offered the first class in this series in an online webinar format, and had great participation and success.
The workshops are available to students and others, ages 15 and up. Each participant receives a certificate of completion provided they attend the entire workshop. As the workshops conclude we send each participant a survey to complete, and are able to capture their pertinent requests, feedback, and whether or not they have an urgent matter they would like to speak to someone about. Participants are able to request any or all of our resources and referrals, and throughout the workshop they are reminded of emergency numbers and ongoing support offered if they are in a crisis situation.
Attendees of “Love Shouldn’t Hurt” 101 expressed a desire to continue the in-depth series of classes, with two local high school students desiring leadership training and curriculum to take the class to their high school campuses and clubs. “We realize that this, as well as suicide prevention and addiction, are topics that are real and happening now. This is really not discussed in depth in the high schools and kids are lost, broken, and in trouble. If nothing changes, nothing changes”, says Dawn Schultz, founder of The Dresses and Dreams Project, who gave her own testimony about DV and unhealthy relationships at the workshop. SAFE Family Justice Center offers emergent assistance for those in any type of domestic abuse, including legal assistance, relocation, as well as follow up and aftercare programs for all ages.
Family dysfunction leading to violence affects at least two out of every ten individuals. The numbers are based on reported cases only so may be much higher. It can cause decades, if not lifelong hardship and even lead to death. “We can not only help save lives and livelihoods, but also for the next generations who will stand a chance of making good choices if they see that their mom and/or dad are good role models as parents. This is a generational problem, and we need to help break the cycle and try not to just say it’s somebody else’s problem to deal with,” says Dawn.
The Dresses and Dreams Project is planning their next workshop to hit in February, 2021. Watch for details on Instagram, fb, MeWe, and Snapchat!
The Dresses and Dreams Project is looking for support as we continue to grow due to the overwhelming need for these types of programs to rapidly be put in place. We are 100% volunteer-run and our Operation Prom Girl Program and any of our year-round workshops and events are free.
We would like to thank the Riverside County Nonprofit Assistance Fund, who by collaborating with the Inland Empire Community Foundation, were able to extend relief to many local nonprofit organizations who were impacted adversely due to Covid-19. The Dresses and Dreams Project was awarded $5,000 to help us with the costs associated with our longstanding nonprofit and its programs for teen girls with hardships and special circumstances. We are so grateful. Without this grant, we would not have had the means to continue to pay our rent to house over 1500 beautiful formal gowns, shoes, and supplies.
While our program is much more than a free formal dress, it really is the gown that entices young ladies to respond to what our program offers and then she is also able to take advantage of our resources we can provide for her to get her life on track and live out her God-given purpose.
The Dresses and Dreams Project has over 1/2 a million dollars worth of beautiful gowns. Our programs are free to those who qualify, including our annual Operation Prom Girl Program. We have given away over 1200 gowns, shoes and much more to teen girls for prom, military women for their balls, and special needs programs like Tim Tebow’s A Night To Shine Event, held in Temecula each year.
On October 17 we held our fall volunteer kickoff and awards at the gorgeous Heritage Park in Temecula. This was our first in-person gathering in great outdoor space for our new year, 2020-21. We are honored to have recognized the youth who have served at The Dresses and Dreams Project for a minimum of one year, by presenting them a beautiful crown and sash.
Our current youth ambassadors with one year or more of service at a volunteer capacity in are Hannah Pynn and Victoria Nelson. Sydney Wheeler was also awarded her crown and sash and mailed to her; she has served with our program for over one year and has recently moved out of state to attend college.
Teen girls ages 15-21 are encouraged to volunteer with our program as we build together. If you have a passion for the mission and vision of our program and would like more information on our new Youth Ambassadors Program can start by filling out the volunteer form on this site. We require a youth ambassador be available approximately once a month, and in person to serve our community and our programs we offer throughout the year as well as demonstrate good character in and out of the organization for our sisterhood of volunteers and her peers.
We will be starting our new year, 2020-21 at the Dresses and Dreams Project, by hosting a Fall Volunteer Kickoff and Awards at Harveston Lake Park, Temecula on October 17. Please refer to the flyer below and make sure you RSVP. Any person who volunteered at any capacity in fall 2019-2020 will receive an award at this meeting. We welcome new faces to our sisterhood and encourage you to come to this meeting in this beautiful park setting to check it out! There will be an opportunity to stroll around the lake at the conclusion of this meetup and refreshments will be served.
It is the wonderful season of fall again, where we traditionally hold our “first’ volunteer meeting to mark the beginning of a new year, 2020-21. We are looking for volunteers and even have some board positions available for those who are a good fit for our sisterhood. If you want to share your time, talent, and treasures, though all are welcome, we have specific openings for those experienced in finance, administrative, client and volunteer management, fundraising, grant writing, wordpress website, and social media, and technology. to start the volunteer process, please go to the volunteer page on this site where you will find a form to fill out, and join us on October 17 for our Fall Kickoff Volunteer Meeting and Awards Recognition.
