NEWPORT, Tennessee — In Newport, a nonprofit is sharing a certain sparkle with the community. For a decade, Blessed by a Dress has used donated dresses to encourage confidence.
It's not just this group's mission to make young ladies in East Tennessee feel special, it's their ministry. The fabric on each rack has been fashioned through faith.
"It's about showing God's love to these young ladies," Dr. Megan Stinson, the founder of Blessed by a Dress, said. "The dress is just the tool that gives them that moment."
She started the nonprofit as an appointment from God back in 2014.
Stinson owns a physical therapy office in Newport, Stinson & Voss Physical Therapy. Ten years ago, there were some young ladies and student-athletes who came into the clinic where she was working, who were not going to be able to go to prom because they couldn't afford a dress.
Stinson and the staff prayed about what they should do. She and others had some extra dresses to spare, so they were able to give three or four girls dresses that year.
For about five years, there wasn’t much traction. She maybe gave away five to 15 dresses in that time.
"I had honestly decided that obviously this is not what God wants anymore, and I decided to put all the dresses into the back of my vehicle, and I was going to take them to a Goodwill," Stinson said.
That same day, she got an answer on what she was supposed to do.
"The Newport Housing Authority called me and said, ‘Are you the person that does Blessed by a Dress?’ and I was like, ‘Yes I am,’ and she said, ‘Where are your dresses located? I have a young lady that would like to come look,'” she said.
The young lady did come and looked and found a dress that fit her perfectly. The next few days, more dresses and girls came in and found their perfect match.
"So at that point, we knew that we weren’t finished yet," Stinson said.
From that point forward, the nonprofit has continued to collect dozens of donated dresses from community members and give them to those who need them.
She may have started with just a few formals, but now hundreds of dresses are on hangers. She keeps them in her house right now, and will not turn one away.
“I had a sweet little lady who brought me her daughter’s prom dresses from the 70s, and I will tell you, to my surprise, we did send one of those out, and it looked gorgeous on this girl," Stinson said through a laugh. "You just never know!"
Some of the donated dresses come in with the tags still on them. Others have been on stage in pageants, or worn at dances in the past.
Not everyone in East Tennessee can afford a new gown.
"In rural Appalachian East Tennessee, there are a lot of young people who may not get to experience things that enrich their lives like these events that happen in high school," she said. "This may be the only opportunity that they have to feel like a princess."
Chelsea Bryant is a Newport native and the ministry coordinator for Blessed by a Dress. She can relate to the mission by remembering her roots.
"I grew up with a single mom, and I watched her work so hard to raise us, and I remember I wanted the perfect dress, and she said, 'I don't know Chelsea, that's kind of expensive,'" Bryant said. "But I watched my mom work so hard to pay for the dress I wanted, and she made it possible. No wasn’t an answer. She wanted me to have the dress, but her reason for wanting me to have it is because she didn’t get to have that.”
That feeling is why she's now with the nonprofit and helps the recipients find their perfect fit.
"We can just see them smile, and, it's called Blessed by a Dress, but to just to watch these ladies walk out is just really a blessing to us," Bryant said.
On days when the group brings in dresses and formal wear to schools and community buildings, Bryant and Stinson run the show, zipping, picking out gowns, and reassuring the young women who are often stepping outside of their comfort zones.
This whole organization and gifting of gowns is completely free for the girls who pick their perfect fit, but the mission goes beyond just dressing up for dances.
"I actually own and run a women's ministry here in Newport," Bryant said. "It's called A Touch of Grace. It's for women overcoming different obstacles in life, and our church one year wanted to do an event called the Queen Me event, and it's based on the book of Esther, but we would need to get dresses for our ladies, and that wouldn't be something easy for us to accomplish."
So Bryant posted on Facebook, asking for help. People in the comments kept tagging Stinson. From there, a partnership was formed. Blessed by a Dress clothed each woman in formal wear and made Bryant's dream a reality.
"They all looked so beautiful, and they received crowns at this event as well," Bryant said.
That's why the nonprofit wants to roll that royal feeling into more rooms, with the addition of a covered trailer.
"This would just afford us a better opportunity to be able to serve the community well," Stinson said.
A year to the day that Bryant and Stinson started having conversations about how to get a mobile dress unit, one came up for sale at a price they couldn't refuse.
They were able to purchase the trailer, and are now asking for business sponsorships and personal donations to help them revamp and redo it. They want to place racks, lights, a changing room and new flooring inside.
“We can load all of that up and then transport that to the different schools in the area," Stinson said. "It would make it easier on our ministry to be able to get that done, but it would also increase our availability to serve different parts of the community.”
One thing the pair wants people to understand is just how supportive the Cocke County and Newport communities have been through the whole process of navigating the nonprofit.
"The people who are here love really big, and they love really well, and they are sincere," Stinson said.
They are proving that the crown jewel of the community is clothed in confidence.
"It is about showing these young ladies that they have value and that they have worth," Stinson said.
If you are interested in donating, you can contact the organization on their Facebook page.
If you are in the surrounding areas, you can drop donations off at Stinson & Voss Physical Therapy. You can also call the clinic at 423-225-2554.