Prom dress drive raises spirits and funds in for Sudbury community
Prom and graduation season is almost upon us and one Greater Sudbury woman is doing everything she can to make sure that anyone who needs a dress can have one.
14-month-old Ellie is legally blind. Photo taken in Greater Sudbury, Ont. on May 3, 2024. (Lyndsay Aelick/CTV News Northern Ontario)
This kind initiative will benefit not only those in the area who are in need but also a local young girl named Ellie.
14-month-old Ellie is legally blind and her mother told CTV News that while there are services available to help her learn to move and communicate the local waiting lists are years long.
Kristina Cox and her 14-month-old blind daughter Ellie. May 3, 2024. (Lyndsay Aelick/CTV News Northern Ontario)
“Every child deserves to have the same opportunities,” said Kristina Cox, Ellie’s mother.
“She (Ellie) doesn’t get the chance to go to daycare and socialize as we already have so much waitlists for non-disabled children so when they are disabled it puts them on the waitlist even further.”
Cox is a counsellor and a registered social worker – however, she said she cannot go back to work.
“I am having a really hard time finding work from home,” she said.
“Flexibility from employers is non-existent which makes it very hard financially.”
Cox said the only financial help her family receives from the government is a disability tax credit for her daughter.
The dress drive
The drive is organized by Savannah Laroque, Ellie’s grandmother.
Savannah Laroque, the grandmother of a 14-month-old blind girl, Ellie, collected more than 400 prom dresses in 2023 and is using them to make sure everyone in the community who wants a dress gets one and to raise funds to help her granddaughter and her family. (Lyndsay Aelick/CTV News Northern Ontario)
Laroque described the prom fundraiser as a “win-win” to raise awareness for her grandchild and others like her while also helping those in need.
“I want to see every little girl going to prom or graduation and feeling like a princess they deserve that and with today's economy even if the parents are working both parents are working it's expensive,” she said.
“If I can help them in any way I will and of course when it comes to my family well I’m going to do whatever I can.”
Laroque collected over 400 dresses last year so she said there was no need to collect more this year.
“(For a) $10 donation minimum… you’ll get to see Ellie (and) come get a dress,” she said.
The final event took place on May 4 at Talk of the Town Fashions.
The family said that any remaining dresses will be donated to the Sudbury Women’s Centre.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Teen was doing homework at family's Mississauga, Ont. restaurant when gunman opened fire: testimony
The 13-year-old sister of a young man killed in the attack on her family’s Mississauga restaurant in 2021 took the stand in a Brampton courthouse on Monday to describe the terrifying moments of coming under fire.
'Repetitive partisan conduct': Conservatives to force vote on ousting Speaker Greg Fergus
The federal Conservatives have advanced a motion that will force MPs to vote on whether to oust Greg Fergus as House of Commons Speaker, after MPs' deputy adjudicator ruled Monday that the Liberal member's allegedly errant partisan event invite required urgent attention.
Trial for B.C. man accused of killing, dismembering wife begins
The trial for a Langley man accused of killing his wife began Monday, with the prosecutor laying out a disturbing series of facts agreed upon by both Crown and defence.
Stars roar back to win Game 3 over Oilers
Jason Robertson's hat-trick goal midway through the third period broke a deadlock and proved to be the eventual winner as the Dallas Stars beat the host Edmonton Oilers 5-3 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final to take a 2-1 series lead.
What a CBSA strike could look like, according to an expert
Slowed or interrupted travel, the passing of goods and significantly restricted borders should be expected if Canadian border workers take upcoming strike action.
WATCH Alta. man rescues wild foal trapped on steep cliffside
A man's daring rescue of a newborn wild foal that was trapped after falling down a steep embankment was caught on video over the weekend.
Severe thunderstorms, tornado watch in some areas of Canada. Here's where
Depending on where you live, you can expect to get a mixed bag of weather this week, as local forecasts predict heavy rain, strong wind, severe thunderstorms and even snowfall across some areas of Canada.
B.C. senior prepares to move due to devastating effects of fraud
A Courtenay, B.C., senior is downsizing and packing to move as she comes to accept she can no longer afford to stay in her home, after falling victim to a scam that robbed her of her life savings worth more than $100,000.
Israel close to approving Gaza reunification program before Rafah invasion: Miller
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Israel seemed to be on the verge of approving a program to get Palestinian relatives of Canadians out of the Gaza Strip before the country's invasion of the town of Rafah.