ROCKLIN — Prom is one of the biggest events of a teenage girl’s life, but the cost of finding the perfect gown isn’t something every family can afford.

“It ranges from like $100 to $300 just for the dress,” Rocklin High School senior Taylor Niemi said.

To help, the Studio Movie Grill is collecting gently used prom dressed this week to give to girls in need.

“Everything that the community gives to us, we give right back to them,” manager Tina Sims said.

The dresses being donated aren’t all vintage — some were worn as recently as last year.

“Some of these gowns are over the top,” Rocklin Unified School District spokeswoman Diana Capra said. “I mean, you can’t believe the donations that we’ve been receiving.”

The goal is to make every girl feel like a princess on her special day.

“To go to prom, just that memory and having a beautiful gown to go in the room and dance and be just like all the other girls and really, they do — they turn into a fairy princess,” Placer County Superintendent Gayle Garbolino-Mojica said.

The Studio Movie Grill began its dress donation program last year. Locations are accepting dressed through Wednesday, and donors get a free movie ticket in return.

You can also drop off dresses at Whitney High School or the Rocklin Unified School District office through April 3.