Julie Allen Bridals donated 220 dresses to the Connecticut Alliance of Foster and Adoptive Families (CAFAF) on Wednesday, December 7, for a planned March 18 Avenue of Dreams event, which will provide foster and adopted girls between the ages of 13 and 19 with free dresses and more.cafafct.orgcatherine.rose@cafafct.org

CAFAF Outreach Coordinator Catherine Rose picked up the donation from Julie Allen Bridals. Lauren Morehouse, manager at Julie Allen Bridals, said this is the second year the store has donated to the effort.

, its mission is to strengthen foster, adoptive, and kinship care families through support, training, and advocacy.According to CAFAF's website,

For the Avenue of Dreams event, Ms Rose said CAFAF is collecting new and gently used dresses for prom, new and gently used shoes, new makeup, and new body products like deodorant. The Avenue of Dreams event will be held at the Mystic Marriott in Groton on March 18 and girls who are interested in attending are asked to preregister online once the link is made available off of CAFAF's website. Motivational speakers will also provide presentations at the event, according to Ms Rose, who said the registration link will be available in the next month.

.Ms Rose said people interested in donating items ahead of the March 18 Avenue of Dreams event can schedule a pickup time by calling her at 860-258-3400 or by e-mailing her at