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Staten Island Group Helps Teens Get The Perfect Prom Dress For Free

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Buying a dress for prom isn't cheap, but there is a cost-free alternative for parents who can't afford it.

Andrea Maldonado is attending her senior prom at the end of May, but buying a fancy dress was out of the question.

"I just want to stand out from everybody else and look unique in my own dress," Maldonado said.

Her mother struggles to raise five children by herself.

"I never want them to feel like they can't have what other children have," her mother, Eda Ulloa, said. "Be it a simple dress, a tuxedo, shoes. It's hard."

But in a warehouse on Staten Island, all the dresses are free to girls who need them.

Dennis McKeon started the non-profit organization, Where to Turn, after 9/11 to help victim's families with their needs, including prom dresses, CBS2's Mary Calvi reported.

"The prom is a rite of passage," McKeon said. "Nobody should be denied the right to go to their prom just because they can't afford to buy a dress."

The organization gets donations of 300 to 500 dresses every year. They vary in size and length so every girl can find their perfect dress.

Thanks to the program, Andrea was able to find the perfect prom dress that made her feel like Cinderella.

Every state in the nation has at least one free prom dress program. The New York City group is one of many that accepts used dresses from all over the country.

For more information, visit www.where-to-turn.org.

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