Sarah Fary, left, makes sure local teenage girls can go to prom each year by giving away dresses. She also makes alterations for free, while Village Cleaners owner Brian Kirschbaum dry cleans and steams the dresses—all at no charge, as well. Photo by Sherry Hamilton

With high school prom season just around the corner, Gloucester seamstress Sarah Fary has pulled out the prom dresses she’s been collecting all year and is gearing up for a series of fittings and alterations to the dozens of formals she hopes to give away to high school students.

Beginning this weekend, Fary will spend five Saturdays—March 15, 22, and 29, and April 12 and 19—meeting high school girls from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at her shop on Main Street. She’ll let them select gently used prom dresses to try on from among the 400 to 500 that have been donated to her “Fary Godmother” program and help them determine which dress is exactly the right one.

Volunteers from the Abingdon Ruritan Club will help set up and pack away the dresses, and they’ll be on hand to assist girls, as well.

Once a dress is selected, Fary will make any necessary alterations free of charge so girls who might not be able to afford a new dress can go to their prom looking perfect.

Brian Kirschbaum and his staff at Village Dry Cleaners will then clean the dresses, steam out any wrinkles, and make them look like new—all for free. Kirschbaum also stores the dresses free of charge at his facility.

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