At Hill Top Preparatory School in Bryn Mawr, the American Red Cross honored students and educators whose class project to sell prom dresses resulted in a generous donation.

Delaware Valley Chapter Executive Director Lynn Cohen spoke to the group at a check presentation ceremony last May in the room nicknamed “The Nest.” That’s where the dress sale was held at the Hill Top Preparatory School campus over four days beginning Feb. 28. Lynn handed out certificates and thanked each student individually for their hard work.

“Thank you all so much for your time, your effort, your energy,” she said.

Before the sale, students researched charities and did presentations to convince their classmates that their charity was the best choice to receive the prom dress proceeds. Then, they voted on which one to pick.

Junior Laura Dourte did a slideshow on the Red Cross because the organization’s mission resonated with her.

“I have that same exact goal to alleviate human suffering,” she said.

Kat Phillips came up with the idea for students to sell prom dresses. Kat is an Employability and Transition (ET) teacher at the school who heads the department.

She called Laura’s presentation “fabulous” and praised the students who did so much to make the prom dress sale a huge success.

“As we know, thanks to Laura, this is a very important organization that does a lot of good for a lot of people, so I hope you feel really good about the hard work that you did and the proceeds that are going to be going to the Red Cross.”

Hill Top Preparatory School specializes in teaching children from 5th to 12th grade who are neurodiverse. Students may have “executive function challenges, traditional learning disabilities, autism, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),” according to Kevin Mayne, the Head of School.

“Being here and seeing our students engaging with the American Red Cross made me so incredibly proud of the work that they’ve done and also of the partnership that we’ve developed with the American Red Cross. I think it’s the beginning of a beautiful relationship,” he said.

Kevin first learned about the Red Cross as a child when he heard family stories about Red Crossers helping his grandmother recover from a devastating flood. She lost most of her belongings and Kevin said, “The Red Cross was there to help her from day one.”

Kara Broadhurst is an ET teacher who also works as a job coach at Hill Top Preparatory School. She was especially proud of how students did everything for the prom dress sale from “start to finish.”

She said, “They steam the dresses, they mend, they learn to stitch little parts of the dresses if something was ripped.” They also assembled the racks the dresses hung on and handled payments during the sale. Seeing the Red Cross honor everyone thrilled her.

“It’s wonderful! It’s such a full circle moment when they are proud of what they’ve done and they realize the work was all worth it.”

Michelle Trusty is also an ET teacher and occupational therapist at the school. She explained that short prom dresses sold for $10 and long ones for $20, which made them affordable for students who shopped for their own prom at the sale and anyone else who wanted to buy one.

“We had many more community members coming this year than ever before. Our students did beautifully!”

The generosity of Hill Top Preparatory School students helping the Red Cross extended beyond the prom dress project.

Ryan Gaul, a Red Cross Disaster Preparedness Manager for Southeastern Pennsylvania, came to the school to thank students for helping assemble educational kits in April to be handed out at Sound the Alarm events. The kits help teach people about fire safety and the importance of smoke alarms in saving lives.

“You guys really made a big difference so thank you. Certainly, we’ll keep in touch and keep working together,” he said.

Kat presented a check for $2,500 to the Red Cross. She was grateful to Ryan and Lynn for making sure the Hill Top Preparatory School students knew how much their work on the prom dress project mattered.

“I just so appreciate that you all took the time to give them that moment and to show the appreciation. This is something they’re never going to forget.”

Lynn told students how much the Red Cross appreciates them and that when they see the Red Cross on the news after a home fire, “You can say, ‘I helped with that mission. I’m a part of that mission.’ So, thank you so much for everything you’ve done and for choosing the Red Cross.”