Tammy Robinson Dressing up the neighbourhood
Formally Ever After is where wishes really do come true. In this suburban garage, chiffon whooshes, sequins sparkle and taffeta rustles. But it’s Tammy Robinson’s wide smile that really lights up this makeshift showroom in Logan, Brisbane. She started Formally Ever After with a few donated dresses and a Facebook page in 2019. Tammy has now dressed more than 1200 kids who wouldn’t have gone to their high school formal without her help.
“Kids don’t want to ask their parents for a special dress or suit because it’s so expensive,” she says. “I want them to come here and feel worthy. Because their parents aren’t rich doesn’t mean they should miss out on that.”
Tammy’s mission is to ensure every disadvantaged student in Logan has the formal night of their dreams. Her son, Kaleb, encouraged her to start the program. “But I’m just a mum – what am I gonna do?” she asked. He said, “Mum, just try. You can do this.”
Now, parents and their teenagers come in their hundreds and they can’t believe that everything at Formally Ever After is free for them to keep. “Mums ask about payment plans,” Tammy says, “and I explain this is a gift from the community.”
Kids with anxiety or autism arrive with their heads down, but Tammy tells them she deals with anxiety too. “Parents say they’ve never seen their kids as comfortable in a new place as they are here in my garage,” she beams.
Denne historien er fra March 2023-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra March 2023-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
