Raquel Laskowski, 17, eyes an array dresses from designers all over the globe—but they’re not for sale. The dresses are free for teenagers like Laskowski, who was very excited to receive one.
“I was like oh my gosh it’s so cute. I think that’s really nice that someone cares enough to donate these dresses.”
Raquel and other girls at the South Boston Boys and Girls Club were chosen to receive beautiful donated dresses from the Believe in Yourself Project. The organization was founded in January by Sam Sisakhti and is based in Brookline.
“About a decade ago I started a fashion company where we sell primarily to young women, and I noticed at the time a lot of body shaming and cyber bullying was going on online,” he said.
So Sisakhti started thinking of a way to change that.
“I work with about 20,000 independent fashion designers and get a lot of samples and I used to give them to celebrities,” Sisakhti said. “So at one point I’m thinking, ‘they have enough clothes’.”
Sisakhti figured out a better use for the dresses, many of them sizes 12 and up.
“I started going to low income areas and I didn’t even really say who I was,” he said. “I would just drop off a bunch of clothes, dresses and the appreciation on their faces was amazing. They were telling me now they have the confidence to go to their first dance.”
Since January, the foundation has given away about 200 dresses that range in cost from $60 to $200 dollars. The foundation donates dresses nationwide. Sisakhti hopes to give away 5,000-10,000 dresses before the end of the year.
He depends on donations and has spent thousands of his own money. “It’s really important that all the dresses are new. I don’t want these girls to feel like they’re getting hand-me-downs,” he said.
For now, Raquel Laskowski’s new ensemble allows her to get all dressed up with somewhere to go—she will wear it to a party in a few weeks.
