Iqaluit (Jun 05/06) - Tuxedos and evening dresses aren't the easiest things to find in the North.

So with prom season just around the corner, Jackie Simms of Iglulik decided Northern grads needed a helping hand to look their best for their big day.

Project Sparkle was born and now Simms and friend Tina McKinnon of Iqaluit are trafficking in dresses, suits, ties, makeup, jewelry and shoes.

They've asked for donations from around the North, and Simms mailed a few friends in Iqaluit, and they started asking for donations of formal wear from around the North. The project has snowballed in only a month to the point that McKinnon has heaps of formal wear all over her home.

"A lot of kids don't have access to things like that," Simms said.

Graduates want to celebrate in style, she says, because "it's a pretty big mountain that they reach."

Iglulik grad Jessica Ikummaq got a strapless red dress, plus makeup and shoes through Project Sparkle.

"It's really hard to get that stuff up North," she said. "Project Sparkle made it easier for me to get dressed up for prom."

Ikummaq "sort of" has a date for the prom, but at least she knows she'll look sharp when she steps onto the dance floor June 9.

Asked if she thinks she'll look fine for prom, she laughs. "Maybe more than fine," she said.