Mar 26, 2006 9:29 pm US/Central
'Buzz Free PROMise' Students Get Prom Dresses
by Ginger Allen
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
More than 200 Dallas students have made a pledge to stay sober at this year's prom and their promises have been rewarded with a much needed prize.
Dallas senior Porscha Hudson found out what it feels like to be drunk.
"It was very hard and you can't see the lines and you feel wobbly, like you're about to fall," she said.
In a few weeks Porscha heads to prom and now alcohol is not part of the plan.
Porscha is one of more than 200 Dallas Independent School District juniors and seniors whose grades, attendance, and essay helped qualify them for this year's "Buzz Free PROMises".
After a morning of workshops and leadership classes, students took a pledge to stay alcohol and drug free for prom.
After the education and the pledge, the day ended with an exciting opportunity.
The girls were taken on a free shopping trip for the perfect prom dress.
Organizers say without this day most of the girls participating may not make the dance.
"They give a lot of different girls that's from the 'hood a chance to just to get to have a nice prom," said senior, Shemelia Richardson.
DISD and the Dallas Police Department helped sponsor the day for girls who face financial hardships.
This year the students had the chance to choose from more than 1000 donated dresses.
There have been steady streams of dresses coming in since last weekend. That's when area rain put a slight damper on the event.
"Our storage facility flooded so we had about 450 dresses in 3-4 inches of water and we were all, we were a little distraught," said Holly Higgins, Alliance on Underage Drinking.
The program was only temporarily interrupted and eventually there were a lot of smiles, after a little extra community outreach turned more than 200 girls into prom queens.
A study of last year's participants found that 83% of the participants said that alcohol and drugs were
not part of their activities before, after, or during prom.
This is the 5th annual 'Buzz Free' event in Dallas.
(CBS 11 News)
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