MONROE — This is the 13 year of Prom for Pennies. The first year of the event was 2012. That first year 12 girls showed up, collected 30 dresses and raised $100. It was originally held at the theater guild, but as the event grew they had to move it to the high school for more room. Last year — 2024 — $3,010 was raised and 52 dresses were sold. Proceeds go towards the Jacob Swag Foundation. Teri Ellefson started the Jacob Swag Foundation. This is the fifth year Jacob Swag has been brought on as a beneficiary. The proceeds help fund the Jacob Swag app, scholarships, providing SOS (Survivors of Suicide) training, and book series for elementary kids.

“It’s a great community give back. All of this has been donated. They don’t buy any of these dresses. It just shows how much the community values an event like this,” said Teri Ellefson. 

A lot of the donations come from the community. Dresses are donated from dress shops, some of them are brand new with tags. Colony Brands continues to donate shoes and jewelry. There are also tuxedos and ties. Donations can be brought to the Monroe High School office. They are ideally taken between November and January, but can be taken anytime. All of the donations are stored at the high school. There are also raffle items donated by the community. This year $450 was donated in raffle items. 

“The best part is sometimes people will buy dresses and donate them back to us at the end. It’s the cycle of giving and generosity,” said Katherine Lehto. 

Monroe High school teacher Dan Saunders had his welding class create the racks and dressing rooms. There are 24 dressing rooms, they are 6x5x4. Tom Witt had his wood class create support beams. All of the labor was done by students. 

The event continues to grow. Raising more funds for the Jacob Swag Foundation. The event is run by Monroe High Schools Junior Optimist club. The students work tirelessly with guidance from their teachers to make Prom for Pennies possible. 

“It is a kid effort. I am continuity because I’m here every year, but all I do is tell them what needs to be done. They’re calling all the places, they’re doing most of the pickups, they’re here on Saturdays sorting the dresses. I do the background work, but they’re the ones doing the labor every year,” said Kathrine Lehto.