Arlington, Virginia May 21, 2021 (Issuewire.com) - Operation Deploy Your Dress (ODYD): Bridal Edition will launch in early June providing the opportunity for members of our military community and soon-to-be military spouses to deploy a brand new bridal gown from the comfort of their own homes!
Operation Deploy Your Dress began at Fort Bliss in late 2015 with the support and partnership of the ODYD founders and the Fort Bliss Spouses’ Club. Since its creation, ODYD’s mission has been to deploy America’s patriotism one dress at a time, and with an all-volunteer staff, ODYD has deployed over 13,000 dresses to military service members and eligible dependents around the world.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the course of what the ODYD leadership team had planned for 2020 as the ODYD shops located on key military installations across the country were closed in March 2020. During this time, the ODYD team of volunteers made up of ODYD team members and volunteers from 10 Spouses’ Clubs across all of our shop locations joined forces to ensure that when it came time to re-open the shops, we would be ready. In addition to all the efforts behind the scenes, ODYD National team was planning for a new arm of its program - Bridal.
In order to be able to launch ODYD’s Bridal Program, they needed gowns. Historically, ODYD did not receive deployments of wedding gowns or redeploy wedding gowns due to the individual and custom nature of second-life wedding gowns that likely have been altered to a specific body type. Enter a long-time partner, Revelry! Founded in 2009 Revelry has donated hundreds of bridesmaid dresses to the ODYD Mission to Deploy America’s Patriotism One Dress at Time. In late 2020, Revelry, with a surplus of unused, unaltered, gorgeous gowns with a median price point of $1500, approached ODYD with the opportunity to receive a deployment of these gowns and could not pass up the opportunity to support the military community by providing zero-cost bridal gowns to families around the world.
"Revelry is thrilled to be a part of this new bridal donation program. We've continued donating to Operation Deploy Your Dress over the years because we truly believe in the mission. The opportunity to outfit those who serve and their families is the least we can do to thank them for their service." Michelle DeLoach - Founder and Designer.
The ODYD National team had its work cut out for them to be able to “Say Yes” to the ODYD Bridal Program. We needed a series of resources with special attention to ensure that we had the proper resources in place to create a program that would allow for the dresses to make their way to deserving and eligible brides. The team quickly realized due to space constraints at the shops there was not a fit for the dresses to be deployed out to their 11 individual shops located all over the globe. Instead, Operation Deploy Your Dress needed to start its first-ever distribution center in order to take receipt of the generous deployment of wedding gowns.
To make this vision a reality, the Salvation Army Fountain Valley Corps graciously donated a portion of their warehouse to be home to the first-ever Operation Deploy Your Dress Distribution Center. With the support of the Salvation Army Fountain Valley Corps, Pike Peaks AUSA, and ODYD National volunteers, space was transformed to allow for the digitization of inventory, pick, packing, and shipping of dresses internationally, and the space that is required to accepts Revelry’s deployments of hundreds of brand new wedding gowns.
With the support of these incredible partners, dresses will be deployed out of the first-ever ODYD Distribution Center in Colorado Springs beginning June 2021. Additionally, ODYD’s team of incredible volunteers will be transitioning into a new role within the organization - Bridal Recon Team (BRT) Stylist. BRT stylists from around the world will be joining virtual styling appointments to help pair a soon-to-be eligible bride with the perfect bridal dress!
This is a new competency for ODYD and the team is incredibly excited to broaden its reach. Previously, ODYD was deploying dresses to eligible service members and dependents who were able to reach one of our shop locations. Through the virtual bridal program, we are going to be able to connect with military service members and eligible dependents no matter their location, including members of the National Guard and the Reserve. ODYD Bridal Boxes will be shipped once an eligible bride selects their dress and will include additional content from our partners including an exclusive coupon from a partner, L’eggs.
The ODYD Bridal Program would not be possible without the incredible support, generosity, and resources from key partners and our incredible team of volunteers. ODYD continues to be operated by a team of all-volunteer military spouses and their time, commitment, and dedication to Deploy America’s Patriotism One Dress at a Time cannot be underestimated. The ODYD partners that are making the Bridal Program launch possible are Revelry, L’eggs, Salvation Army, AUSA, and Military1Source.
ODYD: Bridal Edition will launch on June 3rd, 2021. Anyone interested in learning about the program is invited to register for the virtual launch event scheduled for June 4th at 4:00 pm EST. The ODYD National Team will walk through how to apply to receive a gown, how the process will work, and share some sneak peeks of the amazing dresses that we will be offering to the military community.
“We are so excited to branch out with our new ODYD Bridal program. A big part of our mission has always been building connections within the military community. What better way to welcome a new military family member into this life than deploying a brand new wedding dress! We continue to see supporters, volunteers, and businesses wanting to join our cause and we're thrilled that they too see "It's more than a dress,” CEO, Co-Founder, and 2020-2021 Military Spouse of the Year, Yvonne Coombes.
###
For further information please contact:
Corrie Andreacchio - 215-208-1335, marketing@operationdeployyourdress.org
Media Contact
Operation Deploy Your Dress marketing@operationdeployyourdress.com 2152081335 http://www.operationdeployyourdress.org
