Christine Bradstreet, a mother of two teenage sons, missed out on the experience of dressing a teenage girl for a high school prom. At the Maine Event Prom Project, she gets to experience it hundreds of times over.

This is the third year the Bridgton-based Prom Project has sold lightly used and donated dresses to high school girls. Bradstreet, founder and organizer of the project, wanted a fun and meaningful way to contribute to the community.

The dresses – some donated by individuals, others donated by businesses with the tags still on them – are available for a suggested donation of $10.

While there a couple similar projects in the midcoast area of Maine, Bradstreet said, there were none near the Lakes Region “and there seemed to be a need.”

Last Saturday, 800 dresses organized by size and style were hung neatly on racks in a room upstairs from Beth’s Cafe Kitchen on Main Street, a space the project rents year-round. When the event opened at noon, 10 or so girls had quickly arrived to try on dresses, and a steady stream of girls came in and out.

Abby Horne and Ashley Kilgore, both from Bridgton and seniors at Lake Region High School, were trying on a number of dresses, looking for the perfect one.

Horne said she had found the perfect fit in a floor-length maroon dress, but Kilgore had a few more dresses to try on before making her decision.

The number and quality of the dresses impressed Horne.

“Anyone should come to this place, definitely. It’s a great deal, and the dresses are really pretty,” she said.

Horne said she was enjoying being at the event and appreciating all the other girls trying on dresses. She said a lot of girls tend to feel insecure, “but it’s good when they find something, and I like that.”

The young women said they’re excited and a bit sad about attending their last prom on May 14.

Christina Newcomb, a student at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, drove from Harrison with a few friends to look at dresses. Last year, Newcomb attended a similar event in Biddeford.

“It’s a one-use dress,” she said, “so it’s nice not to pay money for something when you know you’ll be paying for college next year.”

Newcomb said she’s excited for her prom on June 4. She said there were a lot of dresses she liked, but she was still looking to find a good match.

Some of the dresses may need a small touchup to be that perfect fit. That’s where Betty Smith of Raymond comes in. She is a seamstress who, for each of the past three years, has volunteered to help with adjustments to the dresses.

She first heard about the project at the Raymond Public Library, and she donated some of her dresses. Then she had an idea of how she could contribute, and now each year she keeps her sewing machine on site to “help with minor adjustments,” she said, “and there have been a lot of them.”

“It’s been nice to be able to offer the services,” she said, “to tighten a button or whatever needs to be done.” At the last three prom projects, Smith has “had a blast doing this.”

“It’s really nice to see the girls walk out with sparkles in their eyes,” she said.

Nancy Hawkins and her daughter Michelle Hawkins, both of Bridgton, have volunteered with the prom project for the last three years. They got involved when they donated a number of dresses to the event.

The dresses were sitting in a box in their attic, Nancy Hawkins said, “and we never knew what to do with them. Now we know we can recycle them in a meaningful way.”

The event will continue this weekend, allowing more young men and women to scan the remaining inventory. Last weekend’s event outfitted about 60 students.

Bradstreet has expanded the scope of the project through the years, to include bridal gowns and tuxedos. The prom project has some tuxedo options for boys, but Bradstreet is looking to expand the program by “reaching out to tuxedo shops and asking them to donate, or offer a deep discount, and we can subsidize some of the cost.”

The $10 suggested donations for dresses, and other donations, are tax-deductible and go toward the project’s continued operation.

While the day-to-day mission is to provide low-income young men and women with outfits for prom, “our true mission is to empower young people to know that good things are possible in their lives,” says the project’s website. “Every person is valued as a smart and vital human no matter what financial challenges she or he may be facing.”

Eight hundred dresses were available for purchase by donation at Saturday’s Maine Event Prom Project.

The Maine Event Prom Project served about 60 young women and men from the Lakes Region during last weekend’s event.