Say goodbye to the dress: Woman donates prom dress to student in need

Alexandra Walbourne saved up for weeks to pay for the red strapless prom dress that made her feel like royalty. 

At $620, it was more than she wanted to spend.

But when she tried it on, she knew it was the one.

Central Morning5:01Badger Woman's Facebook Post Goes Viral After Kind Offer to Give Away Prom Dress

Prom is exciting for grads and also very expensive. A young woman from Badger wanted to help out an up and coming grad with those costs by giving away her 600 dollar dress. Our Julia Cook spoke with Alexandra Walbourne

"This dress here was the first one I tried on. I fell in love," said Walbourne.

"I felt like a princess at prom and, hopefully, another girl will also feel like a princess at prom with this dress on."

Now 19, Walbourne may have loved the dress on her prom night, but it's been sitting in her closet for two years.

She knew she'd never wear it again, so she decided to give it away.

"I didn't want someone else having to stress out about money and having that worry ruin their day, almost," said Walbourne.

Facebook post spread quickly

Getting ready for prom can be expensive. Including the dress, accessories and hair, that one evening can cost close to $1,000. 

"I could barely afford it and I had a part-time job working every weekend saving up for it and support from my parents," she said. 

Walbourne posted her offer on Facebook and it spread, fast.

The post was quickly shared more than 700 times.

"I had people messaging me, telling me that they thought... I was great and they said they hope other people do the same thing."

After seeing Walbourne's post online, a woman in Bishop's Falls who works with low-income families reached out and said she could give the dress to a local grad.

But Walbourne won't know who will be wearing the dress for a couple of months.

"It's just wonderful someone else is going to be able to enjoy this, [who] might have not be able to afford it in the first place," she said.

Many people keep their prom dresses as a memento, but Walbourne said she's not sad to see the dress go.

"I've held onto it for two years and today's the first day I took it out of the bag since grad day," she said.

"Hopefully another girl can wear it and maybe she can hold onto it."