Social Work Club Puts on Prom Party for Foster Youth

With the prom season approaching many high school girls are out searching for the perfect dress, but for a few, prom might not have happened if it weren’t for the HSU Social Work Club.    

For nine consecutive years the social work club has put on the “HSU Prom Party” for teens within the foster program from Taylor County and the surrounding areas.

The HSU social work club partnered with Child Protective Services (CPS) and with the help of the PAVE grant from the Abilene Junior League they were able to provide eight foster youth with new or gently used prom dresses.

Maygen Hansard, senior social work and psychology major from Midland says, “CPS doesn’t have the money to buy prom dresses so we ask for dress donations and we applied for grant money to help with the cost.”

During the party the girls were served lunch and after they found the perfect dress they could get their photo made in the photo booth. 

Hansard was grateful to be apart of this year’s event and stated, “I think a lot of times we take high school experiences like prom for granted. If you don’t have a dress, you don’t go to prom. It’s a humbling experience to be able to provide them with that.”

For more information about the HSU Social Work Club visit www.hsutx.edu/academics/cap/socialwork/socialclub/