Teen offers prom dress to someone in need, causes chain reaction

Finding the perfect prom dress can be a challenge. For many girls, choosing the ideal color or style can cause anxiety. But some girls may never get that chance to face that first-world problem because a prom dress simply costs too much money. The average prom dress ranges from $100 to $400—and when you add in the cost of tickets, hair, makeup and meals, that single night out can bust any parent’s budget.

Mika Riddick, of Maryland, remembered her how much she loved her prom nights and decided she wanted to help someone else have the night of their lives. So, the 19 year old posted a unique offer on social media: to loan out her 2016 prom dress to someone who needed it. She was also offering free shoes and a makeup artist.

Riddick didn’t know what to expect from the response but she hoped the offer of a dress and free makeup session would catch the right person’s eye. Let’s just say her offer has taken on a life of its own.

After about 38,000 likes and about 14,000 retweets, Riddick’s fairy godmother-like post has gone viral and caught the world’s attention.

“I didn’t expect it to get this much attention at all,” the generous teen told Yahoo Lifestyle. “It’s something I’d do on a normal day for anyone. I’m really happy this all happened though.”

Riddick’s offer to loan the dress means that multiple girls in her area can have the opportunity to go to their prom in style. Her gesture moved other young women to offer their dresses for girls who need an incredible gown for their special night.

One girl in California posted a dress she wore to her sister’s wedding and thanked Riddick for the idea.

In another reply to the original tweet, a woman from Denver showed off a stunning black dress that she’s willing to share with other girls.

https://twitter.com/KaitlynneFun/status/974184730944925696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cosmopolitan.com%2Fstyle-beauty%2Ffashion%2Fa19479674%2Fteen-gives-prom-dress-twitter%2F

A woman in the Washington, D.C. area posted three dresses for girls to choose from for their prom night!

And yet another posted her own pretty pink prom dress on Twitter, requesting direct messages from anyone interested.

One guy in Maryland even jumped on the bandwagon and offered up his suits for some lucky guys to use for their big night.

https://twitter.com/_JoshuaTodd/status/974155112800276480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yahoo.com%2Flifestyle%2Fteen-sharing-gorgeous-prom-dress-girl-need-sparked-movement-192211102.html

As for the original social media fairy godmother, Riddick is simply thrilled to see how others took up the her cause.

“So many people are inspired to be selfless now in their everyday acts,” Riddick told Yahoo. “I want things like this to not be so abnormal. As much as others are touched, they have inspired me just as much.”

Prom season is officially here. Is your kid going out?