ABOVE: Some of the several hundred dresses available to shop from now through June at Goodnews Collective. Dress rentals or purchases support Action169’s mission.

FAIRMONT– Now in its fifth year, Action169’s Runway for Action is in a new but very fitting location as the dresses are all in Goodnews Collective at 114 E. 3rd Street in Fairmont. The newly opened store is operating under Action169’s umbrella and is owned by co-founder, Danielle Freitag.

To start, Runway for Action: Dresses for a Cause, was located in the media center at Fairmont High School. Then, it was a pop-up shop located in the Five Lakes Centre mall in Fairmont for several years. Last year, the store used a rented space behind Pizza Ranch in Fairmont. Freitag now believes that they’re in a permanent location, which she feels good about.

“It’s so special that it’s in our building this year,” she said.

While the location has changed over the years, the mission has not.

“Everything supports the ministry of Action169, in support of women in restorative care,” Freitag said.

There is still a large selection of gowns, several hundred, in various sizes, colors and styles, to choose from. There are a good number of new ones in the mix as Freitag said they recently got a shipment of dresses from a Minnesota-based prom shop.

“Some of them are brand new, never been worn,” she said.

The vast majority of the gowns were donated by high end prom and bridal shops, some of which are in New York or Chicago. In addition to those that came from stores, Freitag said they do accept donated dresses from individuals.

A new offering this year is that dresses are not only available to rent, as has been offered in the past, but to purchase, too.

“If a gal wants to purchase a dress, we’re doing reasonable prices,” Freitag said.

It costs just $58 to rent a dress with the majority of the cost going to pay for the dress to be dry-cleaned.

Once selected, the dress can be taken home that same day and if renting, it must be returned after the event for which it was chosen.

As prom is the biggest event most will be shopping for, the full, large collection will be available inside Goodnews Collective from January through June though some dresses will be kept in the store year-round. In addition to formal gowns, Freitag shared that they have a very small selection of wedding gowns, too.

“We did have one bride last year, so that was fun,” Freitag said.

Moving forward, Freitag will strive to keep new and fresh inventory so that there are always new pieces to browse and select from.

No appointments are necessary but people can come in to shop during the store’s open hours. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.