For the Big Grrls!

  Local women decided to create an experience for plus sized girls to live out their high school dream without having to worry about their size. The leader Amber Reynolds started a non-profit organization just for them. 

  Amber Reynolds runs the non-profit organization “For the Big Grrrls” along with her lifelong bestie, April Lynn. They are holding local events, in Loudoun and Prince William County, for girls to browse and pick the dresses they love. They started this for all the girls who struggle to find their sizes in typical retail stores.  

  “I decided to help out,”  Lynn said. “ because Madison is like a daughter to me and just hearing that, made me want to help her [Reynolds] out whatever way I could.”

  She first had the idea when shopping with her daughter for her homecoming dress; her daughter was upset she couldn’t find a dress that fit. They went everywhere looking for a dress and spent days going to stores and coming back empty-handed. Reynolds decided to go to a consignment store and found the perfect dress for her. Reynolds was familiar with that type of disappointment and wanted to do something about it.  

  “I saw my daughter dealing with the struggle and issues I had growing up, and I didn’t want that for her,” Reynolds said. “Having to see her like that, I knew I had to do something.” 

  With that thought and determination, “For The Big Grrrls” was put in motion. She brought the idea to Lynn and started everything needed to kick-start this project. They began working together to make this idea a reality by creating posters, getting the word out for dress donations, and gathering volunteers. 

  “I started to talk about it to my friends, and it got me thinking about how I can actually do this,” Lynn said. “I want to just jump head first.” 

  Once people heard about the plans, volunteers quickly signed up and started donating. They had their first event on September 15, about a month before most homecomings. They had a couple of people show up and get dresses. As of October 10, 2022, 20 dresses have been donated.

  “The turn out wasn’t as much as we expected,” Lynn said, “but it’s a start and we’ll get there.” 

  The girls are already planning on their next event. The next event is not yet scheduled but will be around prom. They have planned it to give anyone wanting a dress plenty of time to pick one out and have to stress about it in the time before their event. 

  “We decided to set up our events during dance season,” Reynolds said, “ It was a pretty obvious decision.”

  For the off time that they don’t have any events happening, they will be accepting donations to collect in this waiting period. They accept all sizes of formal dresses, shoes, and jewelry, but would prefer plus size dresses. If you’re interested and aren’t plus size, still come. The event is open to anyone interested no matter size. 

  “This means so much to me,”  participant Madison Jeffries said. “I’m glad to see people actually care about me and people like me.”

Picture Courtesy of Dissolves.com