Check Out Ronna Luna’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ronna Luna.

Hi Ronna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory. 
Hello, my name is Ronna Luna, and I am the founder of Maria’s Closet, a non-profit based in San Pedro, California. I would like to start by thanking Lisa Nygren for recommending us and Voyage LA for finding us as well as any consideration to allow us to tell our story on an amazing platform such as Voyage LA. We are so excited about this opportunity and the exposure it brings to youth in need not only in our community of San Pedro, Wilmington & Harbor City but now, after 7 years, to high school senior girls in need across Southern California. 

You may be wondering what Maria’s Closet is, so I think it’s important to tell you how and why I started the non-profit 7 years ago. 

Looking back, I truly believe Maria’s Closet found me and my family. We are a San Pedro family, my husband a 35 year LA City Fire Captain born and raised here, I have worked for 34 years in the title insurance sales space in the South Bay. It was by a chance meeting that I was introduced to a San Pedro High School Student that couldn’t afford a prom gown, and her name was Gillian. Gillian was not going to not be able to attend her prom because of financial constraints that she was experiencing. It broke my heart. Just meeting her and taking her shopping for a life event that she had worked so hard for and was unobtainable to her because of the price broke my heart. It was that moment in time and that one meeting that did it all. 

That’s it… It just took that one interaction! I knew in my heart that this was not a fluke interaction, and if there was one Gillian, there had to be many more, and this was the Luna’s calling to serve. I quickly formed the non-profit with an amazing group of ladies, named it after my mother-in-law Maria who was a Starkist cannery worker for over 45 years. My husband started building dressing rooms out of PVC pipe and shower curtains in the backyard; I started reaching out to our local and all Title One schools to tell them about our program and how we can also help their young ladies in financial need that simply cannot afford such a luxury as a new prom gown. My friends began dropping off all of those amazing prom gowns our daughters left behind after high school as they headed off to college, after barely one wear…. And we never looked back. We had one mission in mind… to be a group of empowering men and women that truly gives so much more than a “free” prom dress, and boy, do we! We chose to do things different for THEM! 

Fast forward to today. Our annual Big Give event brings together high school senior girls from all of Southern California, encompassing over 51 Title I schools! City councilmen send buses to South Central, East LA, Watts, and the Valley to provide transportation to those who simply do not have such a luxury as a car or parents/guardians. As the girls pour in from near and far, you can feel the excitement in the air! The Mary Star High School gym space has been converted into a best-described prom dress wonderland! Over 175 amazing volunteers from our community work to create a fun, carefree, and empowering space for a magical day of shopping and confidence-boosting ALL for them! 1000’s brand-new gowns with tags are rolled in, over 55 dressing rooms are ready, balloon arches, dazzling new accessories adorn tables, and luxurious makeup swag bags… all for them, all free of charge, all donated by our amazing community. Each young lady is teamed up with a volunteer personal stylist who spends “TIME” with them to find the perfect gown. Our Maria’s Closet girls leave our event with a brand new designer gown, all accessories, make-up swag bags, two excellent motivational speakers delivering positivity and tools, but most importantly, a network of new and lasting friendships and something to look forward to, to rock that prom night without the financial constraints that they have lived with for most of their lives. 

To date, Maria’s Closet has dressed over 1300 young women in entirety and are set to dress 400 more March 23rd/24th at Mary Star High School Gym. Who we serve is what we are most proud of! We serve exceptional young ladies that we get to learn about more as they advocate for themselves to come to this event thru a written application. They must have above a 2.0 GPA and cannot be truant… they must also have this signed off by their guidance counselor. 

They are living in WAY below low-income situations, hundreds are referred by the Boys and Girls Club, they are residing in foster homes, many in transitional housing, and yes some are indeed homeless living in garages and cars. We also scholarship to these young ladies yearly a minimum of $10,000 to our Maria’s Closet girls looking to further their education, but also need basic resources to thrive in their new college environment. To date, we have donated over $34,000.00 to our recipients. 

Three years ago, we also added one more yearly event, which happens every year in April and is also pure magic! We do the same thing all over again for the beautiful special needs and disabled young ladies in our community and all of the South Bay High schools for their special needs programs with our collaboration with Willenberg in San Pedro, California. Again, the community shows up and shows off, giving of their time, their love, and helping to empower young women, one gown at a time! 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Maria’s Closet has been so rewarding, but yes, with reward comes struggle. For me personally, it’s very hard to hear of some of the struggles and conditions that are common in the lives of the young ladies we serve. Many of them have dealt with much heartache and loss at a young age. 

Another struggle that we had to overcome was what Covid indeed did to many of the companies that used to provide us with in-kind donations of products such as make-up, skincare, jewelry, etc. The production basically stopped for many of these manufacturers during that window period, so now post covid, we are not able to receive as a donation, so we fundraise incredibly hard to provide not only the amazing new prom gown but the swag bags full of the extra luxury items that complete their prom look. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I believe what sets Maria’s Closet apart from other similar prom-give non-profits is HOW we serve. Upon forming the board, we decided to do things differently and not just to give away a prom gown but to make it a day of empowerment for the girls that are in need of our services. Fast forward to today, at our Big Give, the girls receive a brand new prom gown, all their accessories, swag bags filled with luxurious products to complete their look, two excellent guest speakers to provide positivity and hope to them no matter where they are in their life journey at the present point, a photo shoot as well as a personal stylist consisting of 100’s of community volunteers to uplift them at a very important time in a young women’s life. We also provide educational scholarships to empower them in their next steps… college! 

Lastly, I am very proud that I feel they leave our event with a new family. Most of our Maria’s girls continue to keep in touch with us from time to time, and many return to pay it forward by being a volunteer, which is fabulous. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mariasclosets.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariascloset_nonprofit
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariascloset501c3

Image Credits
Kelly Bracken