When times are tough, the money for a fancy gown to celebrate a high school graduation might be hard to come by.
But donated formal dresses and suits are making their way to country teenagers to help them celebrate this milestone.
Brisbane mother-of-two and events professional Ingrid Kahn is behind one such initiative, Formals for Farmers Kids.
After putting out the call for formal wear donations, Ms Kahn was overwhelmed with the response, receiving close to 1000 donations of suits, dresses, shirts, jewellery and shoes.
"The quality has been amazing, we have been getting things from Armani and Hugo Boss," she said.
Taking the initiative on the road to Stanthorpe and Toowoomba, the call went out to drought-affected students from towns including Pittsworth, Clifton and Tenterfield.
"They came in and everyone thought they had to pay, they were so humble," Ms Kahn said.
"I can't bring water and I can't bring an abundance of money because I don't have it... I can take that financial strain away from the families by bringing gowns and suits, which to be honest can add up very quickly once you've done your hair, your makeup, your outfit.
"When you've got things to do on the farm, some may see it as unnecessary funds... students have been able to go, who before weren't able. The gift of giving is a gift to everyone, it's a gift to them and it feels like a gift to me."
Ms Kahn also plans to run a separate event for debutante dresses.
Project School Formal, created by Toowoomba hairdresser Gay Hold is also connecting teens from western Queensland with their dream formal attire. Also heavily involved is the Rotary Club of Toowoomba South, of which Ms Hold is a member.
Ms Hold has been running Project School Formal for five years now and said it has grown significantly in that time.
"We get new clothes donated as well, we had 86 dresses donated by Grand Central. We actually get donations sent from WA, ACT and NSW," she said.
"We've had people who we have helped in the past come back as volunteers."
From the project's Toowoomba base, volunteers have been busy in recent weeks sending out boxes of formal attire to communities including Goondiwindi, Cunnamulla and Dubbo.
"This year we're even sending dresses to Elcho Island off the Northern Territory with AirNorth freighting the dresses up," Ms Hold said.
"We've had some donations that aren't quite formal dresses so we also send them out as community clothes."
Ms Hold said it was a special feeling to help drought-affected students attend their school formal in style.
"They deserve to feel like a princess or a prince," she said.
