Twenty little girls in the Turlock area will soon receive brand new holiday dresses, thanks to the efforts of Anne Cornell’s fashion class at Pitman High School. On Tuesday, the dresses were picked up by Major Debbie Hood of the Salvation Army to be distributed during the organization’s annual community Christmas lunch.

Cornell and her students have been giving back to the community with handmade dresses for the past nine years, with the help of the Kiwanis Club of Turlock and local store Cloth and Quilts. The Kiwanis Club purchases the material for the dresses, with a large discount from Cloth and Quilts owner Susan Castro. The dresses are all made from the same pattern, but from a variety of colorful fabrics.

The Pitman High class also makes dresses in the spring and donates them to the Salvation Army.