For 19-year-old Amariana Lewis, her prom dress is the stuff of memory and dreams.

“Honestly, it’s just kind of like a dream come true,” she says. “Every time I think of going to prom, it’s like this kind of moment to dress up before you go to your wedding.”

Lewis attended her senior prom at Irondale High School in Mounds View in 2023.

She’s among thousands of metro-area high school girls who got their dress for free, with the help of Project Fairy Godmothers, a Roseville nonprofit.

“Prom is the big event that people want to go to,” says Kandace Logan, a project spokesperson. “It is the last big event before graduation. It’s like the last big hurrah before you walk across the stage.”

Logan is among the project coordinators who set up an annual donation drive, fueled by social media and notices to 120 area schools.

This year, the group — partnering with St. Croix Cleaners — has collected 427 new or gently used prom dresses.

“I think it’s everything. I mean, the way you look is very important. I mean, you’re sending a message to everyone around you, and everybody looks amazing too,” said Matt Nemec, with St. Croix Cleaners in White Bear Lake.

The St. Croix Cleaners in White Bear Lake is one of a dozen dropoffs, where they make sure the dresses are cleaned and ready.

“We have to be careful with the dyes. Sometimes the dyes bleed. A lot of the dresses have different colors and things like that. Some have sequins and you have to be careful,” Nemec added.

It takes 200 man-hours to clean them all, but this is more than about a dress. It’s about memories and a very special night.

This year, the dresses will be on display April 5 and 6 at the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center Gym in St. Paul. It’s like a free prom dress superstore, including shoes, jewelry and fittings.

“It was super cool, just getting to pick out everything, and not having to worry about how your budget was, and the dress you like the most you spend like $1,000 on it,” Lewis said.

Two thousand dresses have been given away by the project since 2014.

“In reading the notes the students say, where they’re sharing, ‘I didn’t think I’d find a dress or that was amazing, thank you so much for doing this,’ that’s what gives us joy,” Logan said.