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Three women want to give back
Project helps high-school girls dress as
By Denise Dick
BOARDMAN
Ashley Venable, Shanise White and Janiece Whitehead remember dressing up and feeling special when they attended their high-school proms.
They want to help ensure other girls enjoy similar experiences.
The young women, Venable and White of Liberty and Whitehead of Youngstown, have started what they call the Purpose Project as a way to help young people in the community.
At first, they all had so many projects they wanted to accomplish, but Whitehead said they slowed down and decided to tackle one project at a time.
Their first event is a prom drive. They’re collecting prom dresses to give to girls who might not be able to afford to buy their own.
They’ve already collected several: short, long, sleeveless, backless, frilly, sparkly, teal, coral, black, cream. Some came from family members, others from friends and co-workers. The young women contributed the dresses they wore, too.
The gowns are stored in a back room at 2Deep Productions, Venable’s boyfriend’s Southern Boulevard office.
They’ve already given a few to girls who wanted them for their proms.
“We’ve been talking for awhile about doing something for the community,” Venable said.
White said they want to help young girls, to show them others
who are doing positive things.
“We decided to do the prom drive first because at prom, you feel so pretty and feel like a princess,” Venable said. “Your self-confidence is at an all-time high.”
“The guy is like an accessory,” White joked.
They want other girls to feel that way, too.
To make an appointment to choose a dress, call the company at 330-953-3340 or email thepurposeproject365@gmail.com.
The group also has a Facebook page and an Instagram account.
They also plan to visit schools to allow girls who can’t get to the business the opportunities to select a dress too. Those dates and locations will be announced on social media.
Next on their agenda is some kind of mentoring program. They want to talk to girls at schools.
“We want them to know that they don’t have to be like everyone else,” White said.
Too often, young people use reality television and social media as role models, Whitehead said.
Whitehead is a teacher at Valley Christian Schools. White works with foster children in the Cleveland area. Both graduated from Youngstown State University.
Venable, a Hiram College graduate, is a nurse at The Surgical Center at Southwoods.
The three friends credit family and church for instilling confidence and self-worth in them and they want to help others who may not have had that supportive upbringing.
“We’re trying to pay it forward – to give back,” Venable said.