From left to right, Chelsea Police Sergeant Star Chung, Officer Nicole McLaughlin, Chief Keith Houghton, and Jennifer Hassell, executive director of the Chelsea Chamber of Commerce. Photo: Carl Stevens/WBZ NewsRadio
CHELSEA, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Chelsea community has responded in a big way to a request for 'gently used' prom attire.
Chief of Police Keith Houghton got the ball rolling and was joined by the Chamber of Commerce to help students at Chelsea High School get the proper attire for the school's upcoming spring prom.
It's called the Chelsea PROMise Initiative.
Once the word got out, prom attire and cash started coming in.
So far, more than 200 dresses and over a thousand dollars have been raised.
Chief Houghton said proms are expensive, especially the dresses, and any help they can provide is appreciated. "We know there's a need in Chelsea," he said. "The reality is how much a prom dress costs to rent, I found out from my niece, is four hundred, six hundred dollars."
Officer Nichole McLaughlin is a member of the Chelsea Police Community Service Unit. "Listening to people talk about prom and how expensive it is, and a lot of people were talking about how they weren't going because of the funding, so we thought it would be a great idea to at least try and help alleviate some of that cost."
Organizers said the money being raised will be used for other prom expenses like renting tuxedos and all of the accessories.
WBZ NewsRadio's Carl Stevens (@CarlWBZ) reports.