For the many women and men who enter into one of the many scholarship pageants available in the area, the benefits can be numerous. In addition to earning funding for their college education, the participants can make new friends and find new ways to be confident and comfortable in their own skin.
The experience is one Miss Niles 1968, Donna Bradfield, did not think that anyone should be denied because they could not afford a pageant dress.
Bradfield is the chairperson for the Southwest Michigan Blossom Queen Sorority. The nonprofit was started five years ago and is made up of 303 community queens. The oldest in reign was the late Jean Krohn, who won the Miss Bangor title in 1937.
The women who reunited through the sorority wanted to do something other than a fundraiser to help their community.
“We realized that fundraisers were not a lot of fun,” Bradfield said.
So in October 2016, the women opened a consignment shop at the Orchard’s Mall in Benton Harbor called The Royal Connection, 1800 Pipestone Road, offering pageant dresses, prom dresses, accessories, shoes and professional interview wear at a highly discounted rate from the original store price.
Without having to have a fundraiser the sorority stills earns money towards community causes. The shop is run entirely by volunteers from the sorority and the sale proceeds that are not used for paying the bills go toward the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital in Chicago and fund a scholarship for an incoming queen. The scholarship drawing is random and the amount is based on how much revenue the boutique brings in.
“We are not here to make a killing. We are here to help,” Bradfield, who also operates as the general
manager said.
Bradfield said that with the average pageant dress costing around $1,000 it can be difficult for families to cover that cost, especially since after the pageant, the dress will likely sit in the back of a closet.
The boutique offers a chance for the contestant to sell back their dress at a price that they choose, with a 60 percent return on the sale made in the boutique. It also offers the chance for another young women to have a dress at a discounted rate.
For those with a budget, the choices are still numerous.
“Because it is a consignment it is not like you get the same dress,” Bradfield said. “You get a gazillion dresses in different sizes and it is like being on a treasure hunt. It is so much fun.”
The store’s pageant dresses range from $50 to $250.
For the volunteers who run the shop, the opportunity presents a chance to help raise money for the community, but Bradfield said another benefit is seeing the look on the face of someone who has found the perfect dress.
“Helping that young woman find a dress and step out of the dressing room beaming — we get to see that every day,” Bradfield said. “It is so fun when she finds that dress that is very special.”
Since setting up shop in October, the response has been almost overwhelming, Bradfield said.
“We have been very blessed and it is growing and growing fast,” she said.
In the coming months, Bradfield said they hope to move from the current space, which is about 2,000 square feet, to an adjacent store, which will offer them 6,000 square feet.
While the store continues to draw those looking for a bargain, Bradfield also hopes to find a way to connect with long-lost community queens, who can re-unite with their Blossomtime sisters.
To learn more about the store, visit its Facebook page at facebook.com/The-Royal-Connection or contact the store at (269) 277-0937.