In the wake of successfully receiving and distributing donations of 5,000 dresses over the years, Holly Phelps, owner of the Twirl Foundation nonprofit, has just one goal for the future: to keep it going for as long as possible. Phelps started the Twirl Foundation a decade ago after starting to sell second-hand formal dresses in her shop, The Shady Lady, in downtown Centralia. “We were selling formal dresses at a marked down price but people were asking if they could rent them instead,” she said.
Phelps saw the need young people had for affordable formal wear and immediately went to work. The Twirl Foundation remained in the upstairs portion of The Shady Lady for many years but has since been moved to its own space just across the street on Tower Avenue. Currently, the shop serves as a popup with formal dresses and other clothing items on sale so Phelps can continue to pay the rent and keep the shop open.
The free formal dress events will start on Tuesday, Sept. 10. “As long as kids are in foster care, or searching for help, we’ll always need the power of free dresses and hygiene products,” Phelps said.
The Twirl Foundation is always accepting donations of lightly used formal wear for men and women as well as new, unused hygiene products. While the majority of the dresses come from donations, Phelps also goes dress hunting at local thrift shops and yard sales. After the dresses arrive at the Twirl Foundation, Phelps and her volunteers launder and mend the dresses an.