Sinead Cannon, 15, of Oak Lawn, found the perfect dress at Mother McAuley's Mother’s Club Graduation and Prom Dress Resale. (Supplied photos)
Mother McAuley gives new life to prom, graduation dresses
By Kelly White
Finding the perfect prom dress can be costly and stressful. The task was made a little easier for students this year thanks to the Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School Mother’s Club’s Graduation and Prom Dress Resale.
The event took place February 18-19 at the high school located at 3737 W. 99th St., Chicago, and was open to both Mother McAuley students and students from neighboring schools.
“The main goal of the event was to provide students with affordable prom and graduation dresses,” Maria Braschi, President of McAuley Mothers Club, said. “It provides sellers an opportunity to find a new home for their previously worn dresses as well as a chance for the current students to shop pressure free for affordable special occasion dresses.”
The Mother’s Club has been hosting the event for more than 30 years, according to Mother McAuley staff members. The focus of the club is to provide an opportunity for mothers/guardians of McAuley students to help build cooperation between parents, faculty, and students and to further the interests of Mother McAuley. The club also provides fundraising and volunteer opportunities that benefit the school, students and families of Mother McAuley.
The donated dresses were of a wide range of beautiful styles, colors, and sizes. All dresses were required to be in ‘like-new’ condition and were to be dry-cleaned beforehand. They were also only accepted only without any stains or tears and had to have working zippers and buttons.
“Donations come from various places as we advertise on social media as well as local church bulletins, local high schools as well as the McAuley community which includes current students and alumnae,” Braschi said.
In addition to white formal and more casual dresses, white graduation gloves were also available for purchase for Mother McAuley students.
The high school’s graduation ceremony is quite unique, as every student is dressed in a formal white gown with elbow length white gloves, while carrying a long red stem rose. The tradition of students graduating in long white formal gowns dates back to the very early 1900s.
“This is my fourth year being involved with the dress sale and I am amazed at the quality of the dresses that are included in the event,” Braschi said. “There are always racks and racks of beautiful prom dresses as well as a large selection of the traditional long white gowns to choose from for McAuley’s graduation. The girls have an opportunity to try different styles of dresses on and find their perfect gown with their friends and family. As a parent, this event helps provide an affordable alternative for special occasion dresses shopping.”
Due to COVID, the dress sale was not held in 2021, however, the previous year the school had about 300 dresses for the sale and they had about 400 this year.
Dresses were priced to give families some financial relief. The price was set by the seller, and the seller was able to receive 75% of the sale price, with the school receiving the remaining 25%. Dresses were priced between $25 and $75.The funds raised by the event help offset the price of the coach buses which are provided for the McAuley seniors and their dates for transportation to and from prom.
“This allows sellers to clean out their closets and donate or consign their dresses for the event,” Braschi said. “The event allowed young ladies to come in and try on a variety of dresses in a fun, no pressure atmosphere.”
And students do just that every year, including Oak Lawn’s own, Maeve Cannon.
“I purchased my graduation dress from the dress resale,” Cannon, 18, said. “It was beautiful. I like the resale event because I was able to try on all kinds of dresses without feeling like I was going to be pressured into buying one. I loved my dress, and I loved the fact that I only paid $40 for it.”
Local News
Residents warm up to Hills Chamber Business Expo
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Spring has arrived but winter continues to leave its calling card. However, that did not prevent the Hills Chamber of Commerce from holding its 10th annual Business and Community Expo Saturday at Conrady Junior High School in Hickory Hills. While the temperatures were frigid and windy outside, the spirit inside…
Palos Park to tweak outdated village zoning codes
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The village of Palos Park has no grand plan to change the village landscape. But officials want to modernize some of its zoning codes. “The village has not comprehensively updated its development regulations since 1960,” Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters said at the March 25 village council meeting. “Due to this, there…
SD122 psychologist resigns over Islamophobic posts
Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam A psychologist for Ridgeland School District 122 has resigned after hundreds of parents demanded she be fired for social media posts that were pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian. District Supt. Joseph Matise announced at a schoolboard meeting last week that Dr. Laurie Hoke had resigned. “Dr. Hoke will no longer be working…
Will the month of March leave like a lion?
Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 517-7796 . The days are getting longer and slightly warmer. But my prediction of a few weeks ago–March is certainly not leaving like a lamb–may prove to be correct. A sure sign of spring in…
Robin sighting a sign of new beginnings
Spread the love. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . I saw a robin the other day. This was the first sighting of the season for me. I remember my mom saying that the first robin of spring is a promise of new beginnings. May it be so. Is…
Thome sweet Thome: Nazareth baseball defeats Hall of Famer Jim Thome’s alma mater
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Nazareth baseball team took a road trip to the middle of Illinois and improved its record to 7-0 on March 23 by beating Limestone, 6-0. Limestone is the alma mater of former White Sox player and Baseball Hall of Fame member Jim Thome, who is an assistant coach…
Chicago Catholic League greats headed to Hall of Fame
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent A handful of area stars will be inducted into the Chicago Catholic League Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The list features Kevin Bracken (St. Laurence, wrestling), Kevin Carberry (St. Rita, football), Matt Macievic (De La Salle, cross county and track), Mike McGrew (Mount Carmel, football), Dan Nicholson (Brother Rice,…
Fire II tops Chicago City, advances to to second round of Hunt Open Cup
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Fire II picked up a late invitation to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and beat Chicago City, 6-0, on March 20 in front of an announced crowd of 810 at SeatGeek Stadium. Defender Giovanni Granda and midfielder Vitaliy Hlyut each made their professional debut and scored…
Red Stars top Seattle, open season with two wins for first time in franchise history
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Last year’s last-place finish notwithstanding, the Chicago Red Stars have had a pretty rich history of success. The franchise has seven NWSL playoff appearances and has finished runner-up twice (2019, 2021), and prior to 2022 had finished no lower than fourth in the league ‘s regular season standings for…
Neighbors
Countryside City Council tackles long list of items
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Water leaks, a new truck and abandoned vehicles were among a laundry list of items tackled by the Countryside City Council at its latest meeting. They were all from the infrastructure committee chaired by Ald. Mark Benson (3rd). All of the following were approved by a unanimous 6-0 vote on…
Argo High School holds Iftar Dinner for community
Spread the loveBy Carol McGowan More than 100 people gathered at Argo Community High School last week for a now annual Ramadan Iftar dinner organized by Argo teacher Nadia Elkhatib. Elkhatib was happy with the turnout for those coming Thursday night to break bread with the school’s Muslim students and their families. “I will continue…
Pool improvements advance in Palos Heights
Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Heights aldermen last week approved contracts advancing improvements at the municipal pool. Alderman Jefry Key motioned for approval of a letter of agreement with the American Institute of Architects between Williams Architect and the City of Palos Heights for the pool improvement project. Since first proposing pool improvements in…
Teens enjoy Green Hills karaoke party
Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Hills tweens and teens sang their hearts out for karaoke night at a neighborhood coffee house. Green Hills Library invited all tweens and teens for a karaoke night at Strange Brew Cafe on West 103rd Street and 87th Street on Feb. 22. Organized by Green Hill Library Youth Program…
Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant opens in Palos Heights
Spread the loveBy Kelly White When choosing a location for his second business location, Luis Garcia knew he wanted it to be Palos Heights. “I absolutely love it here,” Luis Garcia, of Oak Forest and the owner and chef of Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant #2, said. “It’s a great area, nice clientele and I’m happy…
Worth Polar Plunge raises record amount
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle The FOP Worth Polar Plunge has been deemed a major success and local officials said the amount raised has set a new record. The annual event, sponsored by the Worth Police Department, took place in a large swimming pool that was put up in the parking lot of the Marrs-Meyer…
Green Hills Public Library hosts Eid Clothing Drive
Spread the loveBy Kelly White The Islamic calendar has two major holidays each year: Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan and celebrates an entire month of fasting, and Eid al-Adha, the festival of the sacrifice that occurs during the culmination of the Hajj pilgrimage season. It takes place two lunar months after Ramadan.…
Police Blotter
Spread the loveCHICAGO RIDGE DUI Orlando De La Rosa, 32, of Berwyn, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a traffic stop at 2:29 a.m. March 8 in the 9200 block of South Harlem Avenue. Police said he failed field sobriety tests and refused to submit a breath sample. He was also…
Oak Lawn seeks participants for Fourth of July parade
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle It may be spring, but it is not too early to talk about a summer parade. The Oak Lawn Village Board approved a resolution Tuesday morning authorizing the submission of a permit request to the Illinois Department of Transportation for the 2024 Fourth of July Parade. The resolution approves the…
Sandburg welcomes new associate principal of instruction
Spread the loveConsolidated High School District 230 Board of Education is welcoming Dr. Veronica Shaw to Carl Sandburg High School as its new Associate Principal of Instruction. She begins July 1 and replaces Anita Huffman who was recently appointed as District 230’s Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services. With ample education leadership experience, Shaw is currently…