The Hope Chest was formed in 2015 as Jordan’s senior project and was so well received with excitement and support that she and her mother continued and grew the project in the following years. Her inspiration came from being adopted out of the foster care system and remembering how she felt when she had nothing. She wanted to give back to others and wanted to find a way to ensure that others did not have to feel the pain of doing without that she felt when she was young. She combined her love for dressing up with this desire to help others feel special and important, the way that her parents had made her to feel when she was adopted, and developed the Hope Chest. The name was formed from the translation of her middle name, Esperanza, which means hope in Spanish.

 

The first year we gathered over 100 dresses and provided 35 girls with dresses from 2 different schools. We were able to alter the dresses to fit the girls perfectly and make them feel beautiful. The project was such a success that we have given away approximately 500 dresses to date. We currently have 2 events each year which use between 50 and 100 volunteers and serve 100+ girls per event. We applied and were approved as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in January 2020 to enable funding to sustain the project in the long term.

​

Collection boxes for prom dresses to be distributed to girls in need at one of our prom events are placed at local businesses in the spring. If you would like more information, know of a girl in need of a dress, or would like to volunteer at one of our events, reach out to us via phone or text at (919) 889-5497 (Jennifer) or (919) 744-5022 (Jordan), or find us on Facebook as The Hope Chest or Instagram under Thehopechest919.