Donating Dresses

tonyscutieest09

Does anyone know of any good organizations to donate a bridal gown and bridesmaid dresses to? I want to get rid of my wedding gown from my first marriage and have a hodge podge of bridesmaid dresses I want out of my closet.

My locale is Western Wisconsin if that makes any difference.

TIA ladies!

Beachy730

You could ask on your local board for more specific information.  But you could also try calling the local high schools.  The high school I used to teach at did a collection of dresses every year for prom goers who couldn't afford a dress.

pinkpinot

Brides Against Breast Cancer:
http://www.bridesagainstbreastcancer.org/

salt78

I've heard of one...let me see if I can find it...

But I would also repost this on the Wisconsin board if you haven't already. 

salt78

http://www.bridesagainstbreastcancer.org/

There's the one I was thinking of, but Pinot beat me to it.

tonyscutieest09

The Wisconsin board is dead 95% of the time, and everyone else is from the other side of the state. Thanks though, I'm going to check out the brides against cancer thing!

aegrish

Check with local hospitals.. I know a local hospital here that takes old bridal gowns and turns them into gowns for still born or abandoned babies to be buried in.  Really sad but definitely a way to make sure the dress is used for a good cause.

LDYGTR13

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_donating-dresses?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:1fa47c4f-4ffc-4a83-adc4-07a58b93e21aPost:2b1a5411-d248-44a3-acf5-528d96adbd95">Re: Donating Dresses</a>:
[QUOTE]Check with local hospitals.. I know a local hospital here that takes old bridal gowns and turns them into gowns for still born or abandoned babies to be buried in.  Really sad but definitely a way to make sure the dress is used for a good cause.
Posted by aegrish[/QUOTE]


Wow...that's just so sad..........I know it's a good cause but I dont know if I could do that one. I can't handle babies dying - that's just too sad.

ehathewa

Goodwill would certainly accept them.  The money made from sales at Goodwill goes toward service projects. 

This website has some good ideas too: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/886333/where_to_donate_your_wedding_dressbridal.html?cat=23

marissa_claire

I don't know if they're still accepting dresses or not, but a bridal store burned down in Chicago a few weeks ago and they were accepting donated dresses for the brides who lost their dresses.  

Y I Oughta

I want to say someone on TK said they dropped theirs at DB for donation. But their might have been a shipping fee. You could probably take it to a local resale shop.

becunning2

I triple recommend brides against breast cancer.  You can also include a note (either in the program) or on the back of people's name cards, or something somewhere, that you're donating the dress.  People notice, and they comment about it.

Beachy730

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_donating-dresses?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:1fa47c4f-4ffc-4a83-adc4-07a58b93e21aPost:6897f78e-935b-48fb-bd31-3f893db654e9">Re: Donating Dresses</a>:
[QUOTE]I triple recommend brides against breast cancer.  You can also include a note (either in the program) or on the back of people's name cards, or something somewhere, that you're donating the dress.  People notice, and they comment about it.
Posted by becunning2[/QUOTE]

You should donate because you want to help someone, not to get recognition.  Do you always announce donations you make?

Calypso1977

check with your local high school.

i dontated 3 or 4 dresses last spring for their annual Prom Dress Donation.  i loved kowing that a dress i didnt like or didnt care went to a young lady for her prom, whose parents might have been laid off, etc. and otherwise couldnt afford to get her a dress.  i had some really  nice ones too - one was nearly $300!

naomikb

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_donating-dresses?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:1fa47c4f-4ffc-4a83-adc4-07a58b93e21aPost:ab49f6d4-1e55-4277-8dd9-99b8681fa7cb">Re: Donating Dresses</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_donating-dresses?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:1fa47c4f-4ffc-4a83-adc4-07a58b93e21aPost:6897f78e-935b-48fb-bd31-3f893db654e9">Re: Donating Dresses</a>:
<div class="Discussion_PostQuote">I triple recommend brides against breast cancer.  You can also include a note (either in the program) or on the back of people's name cards, or something somewhere, that you're donating the dress.  People notice, and they comment about it.
Posted by becunning2</div>In Response to Re: Donating Dresses : You should donate because you want to help someone, not to get recognition.  Do you always announce donations you make?
Posted by dnbeach12[/QUOTE]

Thanks dnbeach, took the words out of my mouth.

andamu

I nth Brides Against Breast Cancer.  That's where I got my dress, and I'm planning to volunteer there next year.  The dress needs to be in good condition, and you should have it cleaned first, but it's a good cause.

tpender13

I know there's a charity in the Minneapolis area that takes donations for prom dresses, but for the life of me I can't find it..... and by for the life of me, I meant that I did one quick Google search and didn't see it right away. I did find one link that might get you somewhere though.

http://www.donatemydress.org/donate.html

tonyscutieest09

Thanks ladies for all the info, and  becunning it was the dress from my first marriage so in no way would I want to mention it in my program anyway.

I ended up contacting my local Salvation Army, they work with the highschools around here for prom girls.

 I also dropped off some other stuff that had been Goodwill bound.

kellya01

Salvation Army takes donated wedding dresses for brides who can't afford them.  I think Goodwill does too.  One of our neighbors donated her dress to the women's organization at church to take down to Haiti for the women in Haiti to be able to wear a wedding dress (you'd be surprised all the $$ we spend on weddings up here, and how LITTLE importance those things are in Haiti).  Of course, churches in my area regularly go to Haiti for mission trips and aide, so we have a bit of a connection as well as a church down there that we have adopted, so you'll just have to look in your area to see if there are organizations like this.