JOPLIN, Mo. — For Joplin High School students, this year’s prom, with the help of volunteers and area sponsors, may be something out of a fairy tale.

After the May 22 tornado, students didn’t know whether they would have a school to attend, let alone a prom.

“At the beginning of the year, we were getting very nervous because a lot of donations were coming in for a lot of school programs, but prom wasn’t on anyone’s mind yet,” said JHS prom sponsor Amber Travis, who teaches social studies and is the assistant volleyball coach. “This is a relief on my part, and it’s just fantastic. I don’t know how to show my appreciation. Prom really is one of their favorite things that the kids look forward to.”



WHEELS BEGIN TO TURN

The wheels for this year’s prom began turning after Travis, the JHS prom sponsor for the past six years, wrote a letter in December to Melissa Blayton, a celebrity makeup artist from Kansas City, about the hardships the students have faced since the tornado. Blayton does special events.

“Fifty percent of the high school population either lost their home or had significant damage,” Travis wrote. “On top of that, our school was destroyed. As the realization began to sink in, students began questioning ‘Where will we have school?’ ‘Will we have sports?’ ‘What about Prom?’”

The letter also said that all prom decorations had been lost in the storm.

Blayton began planning on Jan. 2. Since then, she and volunteer Marilyn Marshall-Six, of Joplin, have organized local sponsors to meet the students’ needs.

The JHS prom is scheduled for 8 to 11 p.m. April 21 at the Joplin Holiday Inn Convention Center.

The theme is “Once Upon a Time: A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.”

There will be three rooms that will be decorated differently: an Alice in Wonderland-themed room with oversized mushrooms, flowers and murals; an Aladdin-themed room; and the center room that will combine princesses and fairy tales with “dreamy blues, whites and clouds,” Travis said.

If the organizers had paid for everything so far, Travis said, the cost would have exceeded $65,000. The school typically has a $10,000 to $15,000 budget for the prom.

This year, organizers have decided they won’t price tickets — which usually run $20 per person — at more than $5. The monetary donations left over from this year will help fund next year’s prom.



INSPIRATION

“These students have inspired all of us to be better parents, teachers and leaders for them, and they are our future,” Marshall-Six said. “We want to give them a well-deserved, spectacular prom and pay it forward to students in next few years. We’re thinking ahead to students in the future as well.”

JHS students were called into a meeting last week where they watched a video recording from pop star Katy Perry. Perry told the students that she is proud of them and that this year, they will have a special prom in light of everything they’ve gone through since the tornado. Blayton contacted Perry’s manager for the personal message to the students.

The caterer for the prom is Way Beyond Events LLC of Joplin. ProFlowers will provide boutonnieres and corsages for juniors and seniors. DJ Snacks and DJ Sam the Apprentice from Kissin 92.5 FM will be disc jockeys, and the live band will be Doo Froogly, a pop and rock cover band from Fort Smith, Ark. Cupcakes by Liz will provide cupcakes. Paper Snaps designed and printed invitations. Photographers will be Kenny Johnson Photography and Benfield Photography.

A dress giveaway will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 10, at the convention center through the Fairy Godmother Program, Blayton said. Donations of dresses are being accepted. New Dimensions School of Hair Design will provide free hair styling for senior girls.

Tuxedo rentals for seniors will be available for $50 from Men’s Warehouse, with $50 off the rental for other Joplin students.

A variety of sponsors have been lined up, and donations of money, services or planning are still being accepted through contact with Blayton and Marshall-Six via their Facebook page, “Joplin Prom Project 2012-Dreams Do Come True.” Donations also may be made to the project through Travis.







First prom



THE PROM will be a first for junior Taylor Harris. “I’m looking forward to dressing up and having a good time with my friends, and just having an awesome night,” said Harris, who isn’t sure what color of dress she’ll get but is leaning toward pink. “I think the theme is a good one because everyone wants that fairy tale.”