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Annual Prom Dress Giveaway a Success

On Saturday morning at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the practice court looked a bit different than it's default appearance of basketball players running the court. Instead of fast breaks and jump shots, it was dresses, bracelets and more, as Lesley West, the wife of Pacers forward David West, worked tirelessly to ensure that over 750 local-area high schoolers would be getting not just a free prom dress — but a beautiful free prom dress.

"My senior year, I went to six different proms," recalled Lesley West of her own prom experience. "I enjoy getting dressed in the pretty dresses. I enjoy getting beautiful in the pretty shoes."

West, who bought hundreds of dresses for the event, started doing the Annual Prom Dress Giveaway 12 years ago, when the couple lived in New Orleans. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina rocked Louisiana, West found a store selling dresses that were marked down to as low as 12 dollars — she bought 800 of them, and gave them all away.

"12 years later, here we are," West said with a smile.

To get the word out about the giveaway, West visits the schools to explain how it all works. The high schools that were involved in the Prom Dress Giveaway this year were Ben Davis, Broad Ripple, John Marshall, Pike, Crispus Attucks, Northwest, Southport, George Washington, Shortridge, and Arsenal Tech.

Walking through the aisles of dresses and helping the students pick the perfect dress is Brielle McFarland, a 19-year-old criminal justice major at Ball State University. McFarland utilized the Prom Dress Giveaway in both her junior and senior years at Broad Ripple High School, and was so thankful for the dresses that she came back to help out as a volunteer at this year's Giveaway.

"I like it because (it benefits) people who don't have the money or the funds, or who just need extra help," McFarland said. "All these dresses have different varieties and different colors, I liked getting my dresses here and I just appreciate it."

West, who has been holding the event in Indianapolis for three years now, says McFarland is her first dress recipient to come back and volunteer the following year.

"It really made my day. I told everyone I could find that I have my first return volunteer!" West said. "That's kind of the point of all of it. When I go out to the schools I talk to the girls about paying it forward. So the fact that I've reached one person makes me feel like this is all worthwhile."

McFarland was one of dozens of volunteers for the giveaway, which ran from 9 AM to 7 PM, and served over 750 students. Nick Sato, an administrative assistant for the Pacers' player development program, was spending all Saturday helping out and quickly realized it was not like other events he had attended.

"This event, I feel like, has a more personal feel with the community, and Lesley has been great," Sato explained. "You never realize how expensive some of these dresses are and so it's really awesome to provide an opportunity to girls to have a great experience that's not as costly as it might have been."

West, who has been preparing for the event for months, roams the gym-turned-fashion mall in a flurry of activity throughout the day, helping the girls pick the right dress and accessories. For her, the most rewarding part of it all isn't just seeing the smiling faces of the girls, it's the appreciation they show in return.

"I just had a group of girls from Broad Ripple sing me a thank you song," she said. "That goes so much further than the looks on their faces, because I know they feel it in their hearts."