LUDLOW - Natalina Tulik and Michelle Annecchiarico are both moms to daughters. They understand not everyone can afford to go to their high school prom. 

"When our girls went to prom we realized how expensive it was and a friend of ours who's daughters wasn't able to go because of the expense of it,” said Tulik. “We noticed people have dresses just sitting in closets and asking if people would donate it and then this happened." Tulik and Annecchiarico started a thrifty prom boutique called Second Times a Charm. Last year, they gave out more than 700 free dresses.

"All of the dresses are donated and we offer them to all the girls at no charge or a suggested optional donation of $20,” said Tulik.

The donation goes towards paying the rent to keep the shop up and running. They are able to keep a variety of dresses and have them available in all sizes. They also have shoes, jewelry and accessories. No one is turned away from the shop, so anyone can get their prom gown here. Annecchiarico says they have people come in from all over western and central Mass, Connecticut and other places. 

"They come in here and were like you can try anything on and you can take anything out of here without a huge expense,” said Annecchiarico. “So thats kind of a really special thing to me."

In just one prom season, they outgrew their space in Ludlow with the amount of donations they have received. 

"We started last year very small and had a wonderful little location,” said Annecchiarico. “It was perfect to begin but very quickly we learned we were running out of space."

They found a new place to operate just ten minutes away and are ready for their second year. 

"Nobody gets paid, its all volunteer work and it just gives us a good happy feeling,” said Tulik. 

Annecchiarico added that they “want every girl to have the opportunity to have a beautiful dress."

Their new location is at the Palmer Technology Center. The address is 4 Springfield Street in Three Rivers. They are located on the second floor and they are open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 AM to 3 PM.