By Satenik Ayrapetyan
For many young people in the foster care system, finding the perfect dress for prom or a stunning suit for a job interview can prove too costly. Accessorizing those dream outfits can prove even harder.
But this month, 300 foster teens had a chance to feel glamorous thanks to the nonprofit Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) of Los Angeles. Every year, CASA hosts “Glamour Gowns and Suit Up”, an event where foster teens are given formalwear and accessories. To see themselves well-dressed helps their confidence and mental well-being.
“Every child deserves receiving formalwear for a milestone event,” said CASA’s Chief Development Officer Marie Carpenter. “They’re going to go out in the community having that image of themselves, that self-worth, that confidence. They know that they’re valued and supported.”
For this year’s event held at the Los Angeles Convention Center the foster teens were paired one-on-one with volunteers who helped them choose their formalwear, and made sure their chosen gowns and suits were altered for a perfect fit.
The teens also got to choose free makeup, jewelry, purses and ties. For those who didn’t know how to apply makeup or how to tie a tie, volunteers showed them. And a barber was available for anyone who wanted a haircut or a shave.
Owning personal items can be hard for teenagers in the foster system. But the items they chose at Glamour Gowns and Suit Up are theirs forever. Along with the clothes and other items, they were all given a gift bag of toiletries.
The event aims to help them not only materially but mentally too, by boosting their confidence and helping their self-esteem.
“I definitely feel like it made a lot of foster kids and foster youth feel special that day,” said foster youth Madison Rucker, 18, who lives in Palm Springs. “There were smiles everywhere. There was not one person I didn’t see smiling that day.”
The clothes are new, much of it acquired through volunteers or donations, including companies like Forever 21. For the past decade, the global cosmetics firm Dinair Airbrush Makeup, based in the San Fernando Valley, has volunteered its time and resources to help the teens look dazzling.
“It helps them feel that moment of being celebrated,” Carpenter said. “The other thing is that sometimes when they walk out of there, they think they’re just borrowing the item. Once they realize this is to keep, they feel even more self-worth.”
Organizing the event takes months of preparation, and hundreds of hands. CASA/LA relies heavily on volunteers to make it run, but Carpenter values every moment of it.
“It’s humbling for me to be at this event every year,” Carpenter said. “Everyone – the committee, the volunteers – they’ve spent months of their time to put this event together. Then for the actual day-of, when I see all the young people, I’m interacting with them, going through the process. It reminds me of why it’s so important to support young people living in our communities to make sure they have tangible needs — but also that they feel important, seen and heard.”