DCL May Day Dress Giveaway: A Total Success!

I want to thank all of the generous people who donated over 200 gorgeous dresses and gowns to our dress drive, the wonderful ladies of the DCL who took time on the most beautiful Saturday of the year to help the senior girls of the International High School at Prospect Park find their perfect dress, and my daughter, Winona, and husband, Justin, for their help during the months of preparation and the day of the drive. The DCL's second annual dress drive was an amazing success!

Our First Brunch of 2010: "Rise & Shine"

The DCL is hosting our first brunch of 2010. Please visit our Facebook page for details. All are welcome, just be sure to RSVP (last minute additions are welcome!). The cost is $20 per lady and that includes tip. This gets you one mighty tasty meal and all you can drink Mimosas/Bloody Mary's/Champagne!

For more information on our brunch spot, click here: http://www.scottadito.com

DCL Prom Dress Drive 2010

Dear Friends & Ladies of the DCL,

Springtime is fast approaching, and this means it's time again for the annual DCL Prom Dress Drive for the beautiful and worthy girls of the International High School in Prospect Heights.

Last year, we were able to successfully donate over 150 gorgeous gowns and cocktail dresses to the Brooklyn school! This year, we're asking for your "gently used" "prom appropriate" dresses... they could be prom gowns, cocktail dresses, or maybe that bridesmaid's dress that your best friend made you wear but you didn't have the heart to give away (until now!). We are also in great need of shoes, purses, costume jewelry and accessories.

We are a private organization, so we cannot offer receipts for tax purposes. If you will be in need of a receipt, we can arrange it for you through the school.

For more information on our organization or the dress drive, please use the links below or feel free to contact me using my information in my signature.

If you are interested in donating, please reply with your details and I will arrange for pickup of your donation.

It takes a lot of ladies to pull something like this together, so please pass our website on to your friends.

The DCL on Facebook

The New York Times article about the school's first prom (featuring original DCL Member, Dariana Castro)

Information on the film adaptation of the NYTimes story

photos of last year's Dress Drive event

On behalf of the DCL and the students of the International High School...

With sincere thanks,
Rebekah "Queen B" Borucki
Founder of the DCL Brooklyn
rebekah@justinborucki.com
Cell: 917-355-4496

Dress Drive '09 Photos

This is soooo long overdue, but you can view pics of the DCL Prom Dress Drive Event 2009 by clicking here.

The event was wonderful beyond words and the girls were all adorable! I can't wait for our next charity event! Details coming soon...

xo
Queen B

DCL Day Trip: Spa Castle

It's a been a million years since we've posted, and we have a lot of catching up to do. I promise I'll have updates on the dress drive (which was a complete success!) and news on upcoming events and brunches.

Until then, check out our next scheduled event: DCL Spa Day @ Spa Castle

xo
Queen B

Drunken Classy Philanthropy

Is it Obama's good influence? Or perhaps our salivating glands when the word Prom is mentioned? I think both came into play when we decided to adopt a very special school here in Prospect Park East. Only 5 years old, this is the school's 2nd prom and the students are relatively new to America so you can imagine how bewildering the whole experience must be. I can't imagine what these girls will be thinking when droves of 'big sister's" in hats and dresses come to their school and make them over for prom. Last time I looked we had over 100 dresses for our little sisters to try on. Um...did I mention...Tina and I will be doing makeup and hair (OMG I'm so excited!)

Yesterday I hosted the DCL brunch at my house and it was a total blast! we collected some more dresses and drank champagne mixers...my favorites were the Apricot and lychee!

Don't worry, you may have missed the brunch and the after party and my amazing cold shrimp cocktail spread...but there is still time to donate dresses!

love
nati

DCL Nati's Apartment ~ Reviewed by Rebekah Borucki

	out of five Mimosas
Food
Dessert	no dessert, just boys at the after-party. they were "ok" ;)
Service
DCL-Tolerant
Atmosphere
Drink Strength

100 Dresses: Only Five Days To Go!!

It's finally here! The "Dish and a Dress" clothing swap and prom dress drive event is happening this Saturday, April 25, and it looks like we've met our ambitious goal of collecting 100 dresses for the lovely ladies of the International High School at Prospect Heights. I knew we could do it, and I'm so happy that Bridgette and Dariana presented this idea to the DCL.


You can also read the New York Times article about their first prom here:

This Strange Thing Called Prom by Brooke Hauser
We will be presenting the dresses and hosting an event for the students at the school on Saturday, May 2. There's not much time, and we still need your help...

While we have reached our original goal of collecting 100 dresses, we are still accepting donations through the end of this week. We want to guarantee that each girl find the perfect dress, so a good variety is key.

Bridesmaid dresses, vintage prom dresses, or any formal or "prom appropriate" cocktail or evening dresses in new or like new condition are greatly appreciated.

Thank you to all who have donated so far! While only a couple people have donated online, I've received many generous donations from ladies who don't have a dress to give, but want to help give these deserving girls a night to remember. It is so crucial that these girls are presented with clean, beautiful dresses on May 2, and your cash donation will help make that possible.

Please contact me for more information on the upcoming events or to make a dress donation. I will personally pick up your donation anywhere from Philly to NYC.

My contact info:
Rebekah Borucki
917-355-4496
rebekah@justinborucki.com

A Very Successful First Week

With only seven days of the prom dress drive under our belts, the DCL has almost reached the half-way point toward our goal of 100 Dresses!


Please note that this number represents only the number of dresses that I've confirmed as being collected by only a handful of DCL members. Dozens more have been promised, and I'll be on my way this weekend to Staten Island and Brooklyn for my first round of door-to-door pick-ups!

I'm truly overwhelmed by the generosity of my beautiful DCL members and their friends & families. Yesterday, I arrived home to find yet another gorgeous dress and bag of accessories waiting for me on my front porch!

To arrange for pick-up of your donation, you may contact me anytime:

Rebekah Borucki
917-355-4496
rebekah@justinborucki.com

100 Dresses

An email for you to cut and paste and send to your friends!:

Dear [friend],

My friend, Dariana, teaches at the International High School at Prospect Heights, a program serving new immigrant youth in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. For many of the kids there, prom is a new experience all together and (predictably) an economic hardship that can makes the big night an implausibility for some of the kids. Last year, IHSPH recieved dress donations from "Operation Fairy Dust" an organization committed to making prom the magical night every teen dreams of, in spite of his or her economic situation. The charity has partnered with another school this year but prom must go on.... IHSPHs' class of 2009 needs our help! Friends and I have decided to take on this project under the name/ goal of "DCL: 100 Dresses". I'm writing to let you all know we'll be harvesting formal wear in all sizes, shapes and colors for the next month or so. I hope you will consider assisting us in the goal of outfitting 30 young women with a fabulous dress and all the trimmings.

If you have a dress taking up closet space in good-as-new condition that you think the girls might like, please contact me so that we can arrange a pick up at your convenience. Friends of mine are pooling dry cleaning costs, so unless you're inclined to have it laundered (YAY!), we'll take it your pieces in "as in" condition. Formal wear accessories (shoes, gloves, wraps, jewlery, headpieces, handbags, new cosmetics and hair products, etc.) are also appreciated. I'll need donations by April 24. We promise you a personalized thank you card and positive karma in return. If the dress goes un-reused, it will be donated to a local charity thrift shop (Brooklyn Women's Exchange, Housing Works or Angel's Thrift Shop) where it's value will go to yet another good cause .

If you need further inspiration, the New York Times did a story on IHSPH and their prom last spring. You can read it and view a video of the students' opinions at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/nyregion/thecity/22prom.html?pagewanted=1

Feel free to forward this email to any of your friends or contacts that you think might be able to help. Keep your eyes out for follow-up emails regarding a fundraising and/or clothing swap event to help make our goal of 100 Dresses a reality!

Thank you for your consideration,
[your name here]

**To arrange for pickup of your donation contact:

Rebekah Borucki
rebekah@justinborucki.com
917-355-4496

The DCL Loves Prom!

If the DCL were the Spice Girls, Bridgette would be our "Nice Spice". Yesterday, after our latest brunch, Bridgette posted the following message in our Facebook group:

"[I] can't help but feel a little guilty that with all the creative, networking and good-looking talent we have among us that we might need to find a way to make an upcoming event something that "gives back", maybe along the lines of a pay to play clothing swap/ stoop sale to benefit an organization that benefits NYC's next generation of DCLs?

Operation Fairy dust is a locally-run organization that works to get young ladies looking right for Prom. DCL pioneer Dariana's school works with them to get lower income newly immigrated teens hooked up for their annual formal... just sayin': http://www.operationfairydust.org"

I couldn't agree more! Operation Fairy Dust isn't returning to Dariana's school this year, so the ladies of the DCL have decided to step in and see if we can help these girls get fancy for prom!


I prepared a note for the DCL, but we welcome all the help we can get. You can read more details here:

DCL Prom Gown Giveaway
"A Dish & A Dress" Clothing Swap Brunch
Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. My email is rebekah@justinborucki.com, or you can find me on Facebook {Rebekah Borucki}.

xo
Queen B

Scottadito Osteria Toscana

I don't think I could give a better account of our latest brunch than Nati did in her mimosa-fueled vlog, but I would like to make a place on the DCL blog for a special thanks to our gracious hosts at Scottadito Osteria Toscana.


www.Scottadito.com
The comfort level was high, the atmosphere was relaxed-yet-elegant, the hosts were polite and accommodating, and the service was excellent. If you want to make a DCL happy, keep the mimosas coming... and that they did! Not only were we provided with bottomless mimosa carafes on our private table in their gorgeous wine cellar, but our server was sure to keep our glasses freshened at all times. Double fabulous!!


Needless to say, we will be brunching at Scottadito's again. Our events producer, Jenita, has suggested the outdoor space for the warmer months and I'm excited to see it. Scottadito's has just what the DCL needs for a successful event... privacy, a laid-back staff, and all the champagne we can {hardly} handle.


the DCL also loves the FDNY
xo
Queen B

Scottadito Osteria Toscana ~ Reviewed by Rebekah Borucki

	out of five Mimosas
Food
Dessert
Service
DCL-Tolerant
Atmosphere
Drink Strength