Vanina Valora is really looking forward to her Grade 8 graduation now that she’s found the perfect dress.
But the 13-year-old Grade 8 student at Victor Lauriston public school had a tough choice to make because she was also taken with a beautiful lavender gown.
“I liked both of them. They were awesome,” Valora said, but, in the end, the indigo dress “just caught my eye.”
Valora is among 200 young ladies across Chatham-Kent who will be feeling and looking their best at proms and graduations this year thanks to the Say Yes to the Prom Dress program organized by the non-profit group, FreeHelpCK.
But confidence isn’t something Valora lacks.
Despite being born with proximal femoral focal deficiency, which she said is a condition where one or more limbs don’t grow properly, the teen is pretty active.
Valora said she likes competitive cheerleading, which features dance, jumping and tumbling. She also enjoys swimming and playing volleyball.
While initially admitting “it was hard to learn how to live with a limb like this,” Valora said it also inspires people, especially her biggest supporter – her mom, Yana Pashkova.
“My mom doesn’t see me any different than any other kid,” she said. “My mom supports me when I’m upset that I don’t have a normal leg or I go through a surgery.”
Valora said her mother has always been by her side to support her and make her happy.
Organizers said they were thrilled with the response to this year’s Say Yes to the Prom Dress.
“It’s been an amazing year,” said Geri Hughson, the founder of FreeHelpCK.
This year marked the most dresses given out to young women in the community since the program began four years ago. She gave credit to the owners of the Downtown Chatham Center for providing space that includes change rooms and an area to display the dresses, shoes and accessories.
Hughson also praised the generosity of the community for donating these dresses and accessories.
The program is coming back next year with a new wrinkle. Organizers plan is offer suits and dress clothes, “so the gentlemen can also get it done,” Hughson said.
An added bonus this year was a dress-up day where the girls came in and had their hair and makeup done before being professionally photographed by Michael Carter.
TJ Stables helped take the photo shoot to the next level by bringing horses for the girls to pose with.
Hughson said the makeup and photo shoot was so popular, they’ll likely need two days to do it next year.