Gowns That Give Back: Donate a Dress to Support our Military through Best PCS Ever

Stepping out with confidence and style is one of the goals of the Ball Gown Giveaway for women in the military and dependent wives. Sponsored by the Best PCS Ever group, the dress drive returns for a second year, collecting gently used prom and cocktail dresses and ball gowns. As their flyer says, “Cute is expensive,” and some of these women don’t often have the resources to purchase this type of dress for military balls and parties. A new outfit can make all the difference in someone looking and feeling their best.

Donations can be dropped off at one of three Coronado locations through Friday, Sept. 5:

• Village: The Thrift Cottage, 1211 10th Street, Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 1 pm
• The Cays: 35 Port of Spain Rd., through the gate, place on the bench
• Silver Strand Housing: 1403 Leyte Rd. Apt. C, place on the porch bench

The donated garments will be given away at a private gathering at Graham Memorial Church on September 6 from 2 to 4 pm. Women who’ve signed up to ‘shop’ are encouraged to come without their families for some pampering time while enjoying nibbles, mocktails, and making new friends. During this time they can try on and select a dress or two that’s right for them. Last year, 190 dresses were collected, and Best PCS Ever is hoping to collect more this year. To date, they have received mostly smaller-size dresses, so while dresses of any size are welcome, medium through extra-large are needed.

The idea for the Ball Gown Giveaway came from Caitlyn Thiss, who grew up in a Navy family and remembers attending the formal events growing up. She is currently the media director for Best PCS Ever and runs this outreach with Donna Dameron from Graham Memorial Church, along with a team of 15 volunteers that help make it happen. Last year, they set up the church fellowship hall like a store with clothes organized by size and cabana -style dressing rooms for trying on the clothes. The duo say it is so rewarding to help the women find the perfect dress so they can feel their best when attending required events throughout the year.

With the slogan, “Connecting our enlisted military families to local resources to help make this their Best PCS Ever,” the organization that started in 2018 is a non-profit group dedicated to supporting junior enlisted military families during their Permanent Change of Station (PCS). It provides a variety of resources, including food and diaper distributions, which help 75 to 100 families monthly, Thanksgiving boxes, a Christmas store which brightens the lives of more than 200 children each year, the ball gown giveaway, along with other assistance to help make the transition to Coronado a positive experience. It is an outreach of Graham Memorial Church.

Thank you to all the generous donors. Your donations make this a memorable experience for deserving women, as they select a stylish option. Most of us have an extra dress, often only worn for only one or two special occasions, tucked in the back of our closet. If you can, please look through your closet for new or gently used prom or cocktail dresses and  ball gowns.

Sign ups for the event to select dresses for junior enlisted military and E1-E7, are available at this link.

For more information on the event and Best PCS Ever, visit their page on Facebook or Instagram.

A couple letters from grateful recipients of last year’s event ~

“Thank you so much to our Coronado community for donating all the beautiful dresses for us in the military community. Being able to have some alone, stress-free shopping time and not having to worry about the cost of a dress was more impactful than you can imagine. To all the volunteers and to Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church, thank you for all your hard work and making this special event possible. Not only were we able to shop and enjoy some snacks, but also talk & make some new friends. Thank you again for always being so thoughtful and kind to us in the military community.”

“I just want to say thank you so much to all of the volunteers who made this event amazing! I had a great time, between the pop-up vendors in the beginning, to the yummy treats and the amazing volunteers who made me feel so beautiful in every gown I tried on! I was feeling a bit insecure, and going by myself, I was concerned about not having a second opinion on how I looked in the gowns. But the volunteers made me feel so beautiful and definitely lifted up my spirits! Thank you to the community for donating all of the lovely dresses and accessories. A huge thank you to Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church for providing the space for service members and their families to join this event, each and every woman there was fabulous and so incredibly sweet!”