As of Oct. 4, the homecoming pop-up clothing drive led by senior Olivia Villanova and junior Charlotte Lacy has been canceled due to a lack of donations and rushed planning.
The homecoming drive was inspired by last year’s highly successful prom pop-up boutique that aimed to provide students with accessible and free formal attire. This year’s goal was the same, except this time to provide clothing for the homecoming dance on Oct. 21.
Sophia Rubel, a junior who volunteered at last year’s pop-up for prom attire, was excited last spring to participate in the first ever Prom Boutique to be put on by Redwood.
“It seemed like such an amazing space. [The organizers] were able to use the space that Tesla had [at] The Village and they transformed it. They had a red carpet and racks of dresses like a store would,” Rubel said.
Villanova and Lacy began the process of planning the homecoming pop-up around a month ago by requesting formal attire from local businesses and students who had extra clothing that could be worn to homecoming.
“Our first step was to reach out to the community and some companies to get dresses in donations…We posted on Nextdoor [and] emailed some companies, reaching out to whoever we could,” said Villanova.
Unfortunately, this year, the drive was called off due to a variety of reasons stemming from the lack of time for planning. Rubel expresses that this decision was disappointing for the Redwood community as a whole.
“It might impact other schools around us who may not have all the resources [to provide a pop-up for students],” Rubel said. “Its purpose was to provide [accessibility] for people who weren’t able to afford [homecoming attire].”
The added costs of school dances can often be overlooked. Dresses alone can be extremely expensive, on top of the additional prices for tickets, transportation or meals.
Villanova detailed some of the various reasons that led up to the closure of the drive, highlighting where they may have gone wrong.
“We tried to throw together the homecoming pop-up in about a month, whereas, with the prom pop-up, I started planning in September of last year,” Villanova said “I just think people didn’t have much to donate this year.”
“We had two companies respond [about donating attire]: one emailed back and then we never heard from [them] aga
in, and then we started emailing another company back and forth and got completely ghosted,” Villanova said.
Despite the complications of limited time and insufficient donations, Villanova emphasizes the opportunity to understand these mistakes and turn them into valuable lessons.
“If [another student] wants to do a Homecoming pop-up next year, [they] can. [They can] learn from what we did this year,” Villanova said. “I think just planning earlier is what makes all the difference. [But] we still have dresses. So if somebody is in need, we can provide them with a dress.”
For those who are in need of a homecoming dress and are unable to obtain one, contact Olivia Villanova at [email protected] or the leadership team.
