One Fairport mother turned her hurt into help. Stephanie Shirley's daughter, Katie Shirley, died in a car accident over the summer. Since the tragedy, Stephanie created Katie's Closet.

Stephanie collects prom dresses for The Fairy Godmothers organization which helps less fortunate teenagers get ready for the prom.

Prom dresses piled up as residents all over Monroe County added to Katie's Closet.

Pictures of Katie Shirley donned the background, a subtle reminder of the story behind the rooms full of fabric.

"She was the light of our lives, and I want to keep that light alive," Stephanie said.

Katie was one of five Fairport High School students who died in a car accident shortly after graduation in June.

**pic**"The reality is there are no more milestones for Katie," Stephanie said.

While Katie's mother, Stephanie, faced that reality, she worked to make milestones like proms happen for other teenage girls.

“Prom was an important part of her life so we hooked up with The Fairy Godmothers," Stephanie said.

The dresses came in in the handfuls, even van-fulls. All will be given to The Fairy Godmothers, a national organization that prepares girls for that important spring event.

Stephanie collected while remembering her daughter.

Communities all over Monroe county participated in the Katie's Closet dress drives. Honeoye Falls-Lima High School held its yearly one, this year also in Katie's name.

"Katie went to prom with us," HFL High School senior Kelly Palmer said.

A large community made a little smaller thanks to one young girl and her friends.

"I've made friends with the girls' moms, and they were people I would have maybe never have met as a result," dress drive organizer in Honeoye Falls Karen Jenkins said.

Though a mother's grief will always linger, it's a daughter's love that lives on.

"If our team can do that for some other girls, I think it'll just help keep Katie's legacy alive," Stephanie said.

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