Prom season is right around the corner. Buying stuff for this high school dance might be too expensive for some. A Batavia organization is taking the financial load off by helping students with what they put on.
Community Helpers Impacting People in Need or CHIP IN is gearing up for its annual prom dress giveaway.
Joanne Spitz is the co-chair of CHIP IN Batavia. She said they started out with about a dozen dress giveaways 12 years ago.
“Now we probably will have between 800 and 1000 dresses,” she said. “Last week, we worked with the nonprofit who works with other groups, and a store had gone out of business, and they donated about 150 brand new dresses with tags on them.”
Spitz noted that they even received a dress that looks like it could have been worn during the Civil War.
"It was like a big red, fluffy dress with a giant white bow," she said.
Spitz said Batavia residents were the only recipients for first three years. Since then, they’ve opened it up to all students who are in need.
“And we've students as far as Champaign, Chicago, I think we had someone from Milwaukee," she added. 'We keep track. We had over students from 40 schools come last year.”
The help also includes some free suit rentals for boys. Spitz says they have a partnership with Men’s Wearhouse.
In addition to helping students, CHIP IN has assisted other groups in the community.
“Valley Sheltered Workshop in town," she said, "is a place for adults with disabilities to come and do work and be together. And they're having a prom, and so we're donating dresses to them.”
Spitz said they also provide purses, shoes, wraps, jewelry and new makeup. Seamstresses will be on site.
The 2026 prom dress giveaway takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mar. 14 and from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. March 15 at the Batavia Public Library.