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Princeton students become royalty for day

Two Princeton women have closets full of donated gowns they are giving to grads who cannot easily afford their own.
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Heather King and Kim Nolin have closets full of donated dresses they are offering to grads who would otherwise not be able to easily afford their own.

For some grads the most stressful part of finishing high school can be the cost.

New grad dresses and suites, limousines, after-parties and applying to college can easily add up.

That's where two Princeton women step in.

They have closets full of donated gowns they are giving to grads who cannot easily afford their own.

People have donated their long and short, bright and dark dresses - most only worn once to their own grads.

Shoes, jewelry, professional hairstyling and even photoshoots are included.

"I want to remove all the worry for them," says Kim Nolin, who is working with Heather King to find dresses of every shape and colour.

Grads have a lot of pressure to have the perfect dress, shoes and hair - something that isn't possible for everyone for financial reasons, King says.

A room in her house is transformed into a large walk-in closet where grads can find the perfect dress.

"I don't want them to have to put out a cent. It's supposed to be their day for them to enjoy," says Nolin.

The women say Princeton has been very generous dropping off gowns and donating their services.

Twenty people have dropped off their dresses in the two week since they started. Princeton's D. Blank Photography is offering a full photo shoot for the lucky grads.

"Within 24 hours we got a lot of dresses, so there should be something here for everyone," says Nolin.

The women also have dresses for weddings, job interviews and any other formal event.

They are still looking for more donations, including suites for male grads, dry cleaning, minor alterations and hairstyling services for grad day.

"We're going to make this into an actual charity, and we're applying for government grants to cover things like fuel cost," King says.

They will also be approaching big stores for donations of overstock dresses. In the future, they want to start a consignment store.

"Most people only wear their grad dresses once, and often they don't fit once they have children. So it's great to donate them to someone who would love to wear them," Nolin says.

For more information one how to donate a dress visit Similkameen Royalty for a Day's Facebook page.

Princeton Secondary School Grade 12 students graduate at then end of June.