Strangers' kindness helps prom dress charity bounce back after theft

AMESBURY, Mass. — The charity Tammi's Closet gives prom dresses to girls who can't afford them, but someone stole more than a dozen of those dresses.

There's a happy ending to the story, but not because the dresses have been found. It's because of the way people have responded when they learned what happened.

Strangers keep stopping by to donate gowns to make sure teens can still have the prom they always dreamed of.

The charity is named after a young girl named Tammi, who died in a car wreck just two years after her own prom.

"This is what started the whole Tammi's closet," her father explained.

To Tammi's mother, the memory of her getting ready for prom is a treasured one.

"She was very excited," Tammi's mother, Betty Vitale-Neal, said, showing a picture of her on prom night. "She was very excited."

Her prom dress was eventually donated to another high school student and the idea to do the same for other girls was born.

Today, Vitale-Neal run's Tammi's Closet and anyone who needs a prom dress can find one there, in Amesbury, free of charge. 

But just last week, someone broke in to the Main Street location and made off with several of the gowns.

"If you wanted them, they're free," Vitale-Neal said. "I would have given them to you."

Betty alerted the police, who are investigating. But she also took to Facebook to voice her disappointment. Immediately, she discovered people who wanted to help.

"Right away: 'I have five dresses,' 'I have two dresses,'" Vitale-Neal said.

She's grateful. She doesn't want anyone to miss out on the memory she made with her daughter.

"I'm just glad I have that to remember and when I see these girls getting dresses and going to prom, it's something that they're going to remember every night for the rest of their life," Vitale-Neal said.

She says it's so nice to see people respond in her time of need.

"It's just so overwhelming," Vitale-Neal said. "It just makes me feel good that there's more good than bad in this world."

Tammi's closet is still accepting donations. You can find them at TammisCloset.com.

Cox Media Group