Global Neighborhood Thrift and Vintage raises funds for ESL, job training programs through Warehouse Prom

They say “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Sometimes, boredom does the trick.

After spending day after day grading textiles by herself at Global Neighborhood Thrift and Vintage, Julie Kimball-Bryant, the organization’s director of social enterprise and programs, started to get a little bored.

Coming from a theater background, Kimball-Bryant’s mind would wander to costumes she could piece together from the “beautiful, random, funky” vintage clothing she sorted through. Those thoughts eventually turned into “We should do a warehouse prom.”

“It was a joke for a lot of years, just to keep us chuckling,” she said. “Then last year, it was the answer to the joy that we needed. Times are hard, and what’s going on with the climate of refugees and immigrants in America, so we wanted to host a joy event.”

Though a joy event, Warehouse Prom has a serious impact, with proceeds from the night supporting Global Neighborhood’s programming, which includes job training, English classes and careers for refugees and immigrants.

The event was, in short, a success, with a few enthusiastic guests trying to bribe 1980s cover band Starcourt to play a few more songs after Warehouse Prom came to a close.

Those attendees will be happy to know that Starcourt will once again perform at Warehouse Prom.

The creativity guests showed last year was also a little unexpected, Kimball-Bryant said. One woman, leaning into both the “warehouse” and “prom” parts of the event name, wore a pink prom dress straight out of the ‘80s and a tool belt full of glittery tools.

The first year, the event’s theme was simply “prom.” Once year two was upon the organization, Kimball-Bryant realized “If we’re going to be doing this prom year after year, we should have themes.”

A staff member suggested a theme of “Under the Sea,” and the rest of the organization was on board.

“We’re going to do a costume contest this year because people came to play,” she said.

Warehouse Prom is set for Friday at the Chameleon. Along with dancing to Starcourt, the event will also feature drinks, games, prizes from a variety of local businesses and organizations and a photobooth from Electric Photoland.

Attendees can play a heads and tails game, with the winner taking home more than $350 in gift cards to restaurants and organizations like Jupiter’s Eye Book Cafe and Feast World Kitchen. There will also be a fishing pond game where attendees can win stickers, trinkets and gift cards.

Attendees can also enter to win the ultimate staycation getaway, which includes a one-night stay at Northern Quest for two, a $500 gift card to Mom’s Tattoo, four tickets to a Zephyr or Velocity home game and more.

There will also be a costume contest with the best dressed winning a $250 gift card to Global Neighborhood. Attendees can also vote for prom royalty, with two winners each receiving a $50 gift card to Global Neighborhood.

“I’ve done a lot of fundraisers, I’ve been in nonprofits my whole life, and people do get tired of the same old, same old,” Global Neighborhood Executive Director Deb Salls said. “They’re doing something really unique. And everybody loves a dance party.”

As they did last year, attendees to the second annual Warehouse Prom will help raise money for Global Neighborhood’s programming. Many Global Neighborhood Thrift and Vintage employees are refugees and immigrants who completed the organization’s job skills training and free vocational English language classes.

“Last year in the organization, over a million dollars was paid in wages to refugees and immigrants,” Salls said. “We have to continually fundraise and do special things in the shop and whatnot, so that we can have enough to support all these things. And really, we’re about getting career pathways for immigrants and refugees, helping them feel like they belong here and are settled here and have a home and a community and a place among neighbors.”

Salls and Kimball-Bryant said they were touched but not surprised by the support they received from local businesses and organizations who donated prizes for prom, saying the small and independent business community shows up for one another.

Even if an organization did not know the full extent of what Global Neighborhood does, the more they learned, the more they were excited to help.

“I feel really blessed to be part of such an amazing organization,” Salls said. “Everybody we asked was very generous, and they didn’t really have to think twice.”

With great reception from attendees and local businesses, Salls and Kimball-Bryant find it encouraging that people see Global Neighborhood as more than just a place to shop and are aware and supportive of their various programs.

The pair anticipate Warehouse Prom continuing for years to come with new additions each year to make it more and more joyous.

“To see people join us in a joyful celebration, that’s really special,” Kimball-Bryant said. “It is hard work being in the nonprofit sector right now, particularly working with refugees and immigrants, but I think having so many people show up to dance and experience joy and part of our work was really, really, really, special.”