Frank-Barnett said students generally are uncomfortable asking for help, referencing one energetic and social student who kept telling Frank-Barnett that she wasn't interested in attending prom. Suspecting that this wasn't the case, Frank-Barnett ask a few more times and the student shared the real reason.

"She said, 'I just don't even want to ask my parents. The money is just not there,'" said Frank-Barnett. "And that really sparked me. We need to help -- no one should be left out. It's a hard time right now for everybody, and no memory needs to be left."

Standing in the Hope Chest room Monday, two students said they would not be able to attend Saturday's prom without the closet.

Senior Deborah Tapia said she financially supports herself, so money is too tight to afford dresses like the bright pink formal she slipped into Monday. With the closet, however, she'll be able to go for the first time, and she likely will be able to pick out a different dress in a few weeks to walk across the graduation stage in.

Junior Emily McGee said she's going to prom in a long red dress from the closet, marking a first not only for her, but also her mother, who didn't attend her prom.