I would like to introduce myself and a charity project I have been working on for about two years now. My name is Mari, and I live in Port St. Lucie.
I am a mother of three; two daughters and a son. About two years ago my oldest daughter (Samantha) had her 8th grade graduation. A few days before, I caught her shoving one of her dresses into her backpack. I asked her what she was doing; she proceeded to tell me that one of her friends could not afford a dress for graduation so she was going to let her borrow a dress. After she left for school I
started to think about how fun it would be to collect dresses for girls who are underprivileged. I began contacting close friends of mine and before I knew it I had a entire storage garage full of dresses!! Next month my younger daughter's (Melissa) friend will be turning 15. She has no dress and her parents cannot afford pictures, or to even get her hair done for her quince. My family and I will be doing her hair, her make-up, giving her a dress, and taking her pictures. I would hate for her to go without on such a special occasion. My dream is to give girls who are underprivileged a chance to feel beautiful, boost their self esteem, and make their wishes come true. I don't want to stop at just collecting dresses for special occasions; I would like this to be a year round type of thing. I don't want this to be like goodwill but more of a Plato's closet (gently used clothing that you have to pay for), but free. I feel there is no reason girls should go without when there are so many people who are willing to give. I have been asking a few businesses to set up drop boxes to donate dresses, shoes, accessories, and gently used clothing. [I do not want to open a store but instead have several outdoor locations where girls could come and shop around, at no cost to them.]
I am reaching out to you today to ask if you could please consider donating gently used items (like the ones listed above), or setting up a drop box; weather temporary or permanent, to allow people to donate for this cause. Thank you very much. Sincerly, Mari Diaz
