Graduates recycling graduation gowns

By Trisha Marczak (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Friday, May 30, 2008

Fergus Falls graduates will be leaving more than just memories behind when they say good-bye to their high school. Rather than storing their graduation gowns away in the dark spaces of their closets, students are donating gowns to Fergus graduates for years to come.

Meg Garrahan’s son, Brett, graduates this year from Fergus Falls High School. He’s the third of her children to go through the graduation ceremony and the third to purchase a gown, which he most likely will never use again.

Garrahan, like many other parents, was hoping that her oldest’s gown would become somewhat of a family heirloom that she could pass down from one graduate to the next. But that wasn’t the case. Every year, students at the high school vote on the color of their gown — typically black or maroon. And if the color doesn’t match, parents like Garrahan are out of luck.

The thought of another gown crowding her closet got Garrahan thinking. She spoke with principal Greg Winter about the possibility of starting a program where students could donate their gowns to be used by others down the road.

“I didn’t want to just throw them away,” she said.

Garrahan suggested that future students may want to use the donated gowns to put together fundraisers for prom or other activities. She said students could possibly rent out gowns and use proceeds towards something great for the kids.

“The possibilities are sort of endless with it,” she said.