Though proms are often a highlight of a young teenager’s life, the occasion can be costly, as prom dresses are more expensive than ever these days. Aware of the financial burden that proms can place on certain students, administrators at the Dallas Public Library in Texas decided to start a program called Fairy Tale Closet to help young people get everything they need to make their proms special.

Launched in 2014, the program involves the library keeping a supply of new or gently used prom dresses. Each year, the dresses are replenished by donations from businesses, charitable organizations, students, and corporations like Neiman Marcus.

“Prom is an expensive rite of passage,” said Youth Services Administrator Melissa Dease. “We started the Fairy Tale Closet to help every teen feel like a princess, regardless of their family’s economic need.”

Teenagers from all over Dallas come to the library for the event each year to get everything they need for their special night.

Tamora Phinisee, 18, is one student who has benefited from the event, saying that she would not have been able to afford to attend her prom otherwise.

“Really, we could not afford a real new dress that I wanted, so to be able to have it free – it’s nice. It’s a good opportunity,” Tamora said. “I get to pay for the important stuff I need, and then when I graduate for college I will still have money.”

“For people who don’t have opportunities to get dresses on their own, something like this is really, really amazing because there are some beautiful dresses here that I would have never expected to be here,” added another excited student. “But yet, they’re here and they’re for free and it’s awesome.”

We applaud this library for coming up with a way to help kids have the prom of their dreams! Find out more about this program in the video below.