KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – Answers, Clay County’s women’s resource center, wants to make sure that every girl at Keystone Heights High School has the opportunity to attend their prom.

For the fourth year in a row, the organization has offered its joint effort Prom Expo and Prom Salon that sees girls through dress selection, and then hair and makeup on the big day.

“Everything starts with Prom Expo at the high school,” said Answers volunteer Lori Maxwell, who is a driving force behind the effort.

The expo brings girls into the school’s library over the course of a week during their lunch period to select from about 150 dresses that the organization receives from donors throughout the year. They are even able to offer things like shoes, jewelry and undergarments for those who need them. This year, they learned of girls at other area schools who needed help getting the often-expensive prom items and invited them over to Keystone to share in the program.

“I remember what it’s like being a young girl and needing someone to talk to,” Maxwell said. “They always get excited for Prom Expo.”

At the Expo, girls sign up for Prom Salon where they receive hair and makeup at no cost to go with their new dress. This year they even received flowers from a local flower shop to provide corsages for the girls.

“This is the first year I haven’t had to be here, but I wanted to be here anyway because this day is always so much fun,” said Answers CEO Joanna Weldon.

Weldon said that their prom initiatives are done in coordination with the organization’s Beat Club director Tiffiny Sanders. Sanders meets with a group of girls for an afterschool program to carry the message of the Answers organization to the young women in Keystone Heights. Weldon said that due to the success of the high school program they are looking at ways to expand the program into the junior high level before the start of the 2018-19 school year, however, details of the program are still being worked out.