Our Story

The Prom Closet started as an idea in 2018, to send as many girls to prom as possible for the least amount of out-of-pocket expenses. Deb Mercure and Michelle Aronson saw girls were going to miss prom because they couldn’t afford to go. (Think about it: to get to prom girls are spending money on the hair, nails, makeup, transportation and of course a dress… sometimes this can easily add up to $1,000+!!) Deb and Michelle wanted a better option for girls.

In 2019 that idea came to fruition thanks to Mike Comeau who found us a space at 25 Cole Ave., Southbridge, MA (he also found us an incredible mirror). The space was in an old Chemistry lab! With the help of an incredible group of students the space went from a Chemistry lab to The Prom Closet. Our first clients were the same students who helped create The Prom Closet! The name coming from the actual closet the prom dresses were in. All dresses and accessories were loaned out for free.

Unfortunately, in 2020 the world shut down and our dresses didn’t make it to prom.

We had 5 successful seasons in our lab turned Prom Closet, we even somehow made it through COVID but were then asked to pay for the custodians as well as other fees we couldn’t cover as a charity group (not yet a nonprofit). So, we put the word out that we were looking for a new location. Thanks to a former Southbridge High School employee, we were contacted by Lisa Loconto from The Barton Center in North Oxford, MA about a space we could use. We checked out the space and knew it was perfect.

In the Barton Center, we had 2 incredible seasons. In season 1 at The Barton Center (2024) we had a good amount of unexpected publicity which brought in some amazing donations! In season 2 at The Barton Center, we knew Deb and Michelle couldn’t run everything themselves so we put a call out to get more volunteers to help. We ended up getting an unbelievable group of volunteers that donated their time and expertise to keep the program running. They helped take appointments which helped us get more dresses (and accessories) to more girls!

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we were unable to stay at The Barton Center. We knew though, that we really needed to get our paperwork in order to become an official 501c3 nonprofit which we officially became in October 2025. In December 2025, we moved all of our stuff to a storage unit. We were unsure what the future held for The Prom Closet.

But, we should have known not to worry because we officially have a space for our 2026 season! Thanks to The Charlton City United Methodist Church at 74 Stafford St in Charlton, we have a space.

Now, we work on fundraising to help us continue our mission to get more girls to prom.