TUCSON, Ariz. — There is a nation-wide nonprofit that gives out brand new, never worn designer dresses to young girls in need. Its called Believe In Yourself and it will be coming to Tucson in the next few months.
The dress donation nonprofit is tied to forward progression. Every girl who gets a dress has to set a goal toward her dream.
"Let's say they want to be a professional musician, so they're goal would be to get on the school band. So if they actually make it onto the band, we'll give them two more dresses throughout the school year. So essentially what it is is an incentive-based program where the kids can get clothing throughout the year," said Sam Sisakhti, the founder and director of Believe In Yourself.
The organization also brings in local speakers and mentors to talk about overcoming adversity and achieving their dreams and goals.
"A lot of these kids have big dreams but they've never met anybody who's actually achieved some of these goals. For instances, some may want to be a doctor, but they're not exposed to a doctor on a personal level," said Sisakhti.
Believe In Yourself provides dresses for girls ages 11 to 19 year around, so the girls can have formal dresses for almost any school dance or occasion.
"It was special, you know? Receiving the dress, meeting people my age, receiving/giving compliments, meeting people with different background stories to getting where they are," said Dellena Bereket, who received a dress by participating.
"I think the dress is a window into their ears. It kind of gets them interested in what we have to say. So the first thing we do is lay the dresses out, they come in, we create a shopping experience. Its pretty cool. They feel like they're in a store," said Sisakhti.
Believe In Yourself would love to hear from girls who are interested in participating in this program when they come to Tucson. The nonprofit is also looking for mentors who can share their stories and inspire the young girls. If you are interested in attending their event in Tucson, or speaking at it, visit www.believeinyourself.org
Within the next year, the organization will open up to boys and have outfits for them as well.
