East Bay woman helps foster youth attend prom through nonprofit project

Local nonprofit helps foster youth experience prom night

The founder of Candices Prom Project has spent the past 10 years sponsoring teens who might otherwise miss out on the experience — and her inspiration comes from her own story.

OAKLAND, Calif. - For many teenagers, prom is a milestone memory. But for students in foster care or facing financial hardship, the cost of dresses, suits, tickets and other essentials can make that night feel out of reach.

Candice Hunt is trying to change that.

The East Bay founder of Candice's Prom Project has spent the past 10 years sponsoring teens who might otherwise miss out on the experience — and her inspiration comes from her own story.

The inspiration

The backstory:

"Growing up in the Bay Area being a former foster youth, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to go to prom myself," Hunt said.

As a teenager, Hunt wrote a letter to a local photography company asking for a job to help pay for her senior activities. 

The response exceeded anything she expected. Instead of offering her a job, the company sponsored all of her senior year expenses.

"I said, when I was able to, I would always pay it forward," Hunt said. "Every child should feel special and be able to attend prom."

Helping out students

Providing opportunities:

Over the past decade, Candice's Prom Project has helped approximately 30 students. 

Hunt partners with local schools to spread the word, asking interested students to submit essays and transcripts describing hardships they have faced. 

From those applications, she selects recipients and covers their prom-related costs.

When asked what she looks for in applicants, Hunt said she is simply searching for kids like herself.

"Just someone who is trying — someone with an extracurricular activity, someone who is just trying," she said. "It's already hard enough when you're the kid who might not be able to afford things."

What they're saying:

One recent recipient, Alonzanae Banks, a Bay Area graduating senior who attended prom Saturday night after connecting with Hunt at the last minute. She said she had nearly given up hope of being able to go.

"I was really happy. I was screaming and everything," Banks said of learning she had been selected. Without the help, she said, "I probably just would have stayed home."

Hunt said she hopes to expand the project and bring on donors with connections to the foster care community to help reach more students.

"I would like to help as many kids as I can," she said. "I want to make every kid feel how I felt 15 years ago when I went to prom — I just felt like Cinderella."

What you can do:

Those interested in donating or learning more can find Candice's Prom Project on Instagram or reach Hunt by email at candicespromproject@gmail.com.