Pass Down the Gown Provides Free Dresses and the Opportunity to Donate Your Gently Used Dresses
December 4, 2023
With Silver Belle Ball dresses costing hundreds of dollars and most girls only wearing them once, the whole tradition seems ready for an overhaul. That's why Ruby Franzen '18 saw the need for CDH girls to get stylish gowns without the high price tag. She created Pass Down the Gown as a senior at CDH in 2017 to address that need.
The mission behind Pass Down the Gown is simple: provide free dresses for events such as Silver Belle Ball and Prom! To rent a dress, people simply put down a small deposit on a dress, and once the dress is returned, so is the deposit, making it free!
This Wednesday (December 6) from 3-5 pm, Pass Down The Gown will be hosting a pop-up in the commons where students can try on and donate gently used dresses. There will be 30+ dresses to browse, try on, or rent, alongside Nothing Bundt Cakes as a tasty snack! If you can't make the event, no worries! Dresses can be rented on our website at any time.
Behind the scenes
Franzen has since graduated, but her organization is going strong. A group of current students at CDH help manage the project: Daisy Franzen '24, Caroline Sullivan '24, Amanda Sargent '24, Katie Chestovech ‘24, Penelope Deignan ‘25, Lucy Bartels '25, and Ellen Kovats ‘26.
Pass Down The Gown is volunteer operated, primarily by around 20 high school students across the Twin Cities area. Franzen still oversees the nonprofit, but explains that her job is to help the volunteers find their own way to make an impact on the community.
"We manage everything from dresses, fundraising, orders, and events to photography. For instance, pop-ups like this are run by all of the CDH students with each of us doing our part to spread the word, bring dresses, and volunteer during the actual event.” said Sullivan.
Since Pass Down the Gown was designated a 401(c)3 nonprofit, it has grown outside the CDH community with dress orders from schools such as Central High School, Highland Park Senior High, Hill Murray, VIS as well as in Ohio, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and Wisconsin. This hard working team hopes that it will only continue to grow.
For the upcoming prom season, they will offer free shipping and hope to continue to see an increase in orders in Minnesota and across the country!
Other ways to get involved
The team is excited to collect and rent out more dresses in time for the upcoming Silver Belle Ball and Prom season.
Franzen points out that there are multiple advantages of choosing Pass Down the Gown. In addition to saving money, choosing a gown from Pass Down the Gown is also good for the environment. She noted, "Usually, no one else remembers the dress."
The team is always looking for more dresses to add to their site. Donate a dress today and give it a second life!
If you would like to learn more about Pass Down the Gown, email Franzen today.
Follow Pass Down the Gown on Instagram, or visit their website to learn more or order a dress for yourself!