RIVERVIEW, Fla. — Our teachers have worked hard during this pandemic, putting themselves on the front lines.
They're constantly shifting and changing the way they work with one main goal in mind — teaching our kids and keeping them safe.
One local woman is going the extra mile for some Hillsborough County teachers planning to get married soon by giving them a free wedding dress.
Jenna Rose teaches 4th grade at Riverview Elementary. She had quite a day recently.
"I walk in and these dresses are displayed beautifully as if I'm at an actual bridal salon and it's just, my breath was taken away. I was speechless and I'm never speechless."
She got to choose a free wedding gown. "It's so overwhelming, but in the best way you can imagine. To have my mom here with me was just absolutely amazing."
Shannon Keil is the CEO at The Regent, an event space in Riverview. A local bridal shop gave her a bunch of demo dresses they were planning to donate.
She came up with the idea to give back to the people working so hard during this pandemic. Last year she gave them to health care workers, but the dress donations kept coming, so she had an idea to bless teachers.
"They've been teaching our kids, they've been taking care of our children. These are educators. People who give every day for I promise less than they should be making and we're making sure that's a piece they don't have to worry about," Keil said.
Shannon knows how important this day is for brides-to-be and she goes the extra mile to make this process just as special as it would be in a bridal shop.
"It's not just a dress. That is a connection of her dreams and her Cinderella story. It's her mama's wish for her future. It is the wrapping paper for the presentation to the man she'll be with for the rest of her life," she said.
Jenna found the dress of her dreams.
"I've been calling her my fairy godmother throughout this entire process and I just... she is. She's exactly that. She snapped her fingers and put me in a dress and now I can live happily ever after."
There is a process to find teachers to give the dresses to, they just need to be nominated by filling out an online form here. You have until the end of this month to nominate any deserving Hillsborough County teacher that's getting married soon.