Cork charity distributing communion dresses as families struggle to pay for child's big day

A CORK charity provided three little girls with communion dresses recently following major concern from families unable to pay for their child's big day.

Caitríona Twomey, who runs the soup kitchen charity, Cork Penny Dinners told of how one mum searched on the internet before collecting the dress to give the impression they were buying it online.

When the little girl accompanied her mother to pick up the dress she believed they were visiting a showroom.

"It was very clever what the mum did really," Caitríona said. 

"She didn't want her daughter to know that the family was going through a difficult time so she just told her this was the place where people pick up communion dresses from the internet. They looked through the internet the day before and she asked the little girl to pick out a number of dresses online. 

"This meant that when she went to pick her communion dress online she didn't have a set idea in her mind about what the dress would be like. She had chosen so many it was difficult for her to remember what they all looked like. 

"The little girl didn't know any better and just felt like a princess when she tried it on- like any other little girl going out to collect her communion dress. I thought it was lovely. What's even nicer is the little girl's mum didn't expect the dresses to be new so this was a real bonus for her."

Cork Penny Dinners first began distributing communion dresses after a single request evolved into a pop-up style shop with free suits and communion dresses for poverty-stricken families.

GRATITUDE

Other businesses later got on board - from fashion stores to dry cleaning companies - to offer their support free of charge Caitríona extended her gratitude to the families who donated the new communion dresses last week.

"A family dropped in three new communion dresses with accessories and they just so happened to fit every one of the girls who needed them perfectly, which was unusual."

She said that collecting a child's communion dress from Cork Penny Dinners can be an emotional experience.

"A lot of the time mums and dads will come in together with their child. There are often tears shed when they come in to get the dresses. These tears are more out of relief than sadness though. Parents are just so happy to know that their child will have a dress for their communion day."

Dressing a child for their communion, Caitríona said, can be extremely rewarding.

"The best part is that we have a chance to take away the worry from children. These are families from all walks of life. A communion is the first big memory any child will have. They have the chance to be transformed into little princesses. This is a magical day for the children but it's also a magical day for us."

In keeping with tradition, Cork Penny Dinner's official hairstylist, Joseph Byrne will take care of communion girls and boys on the day.

"He has always been very good to us and has the ability to make every child feel special."

To find out more about Cork Penny Dinners visit ww.corkpennydinners.ie.