Issue Date: March 28, 2004
Dressed to party
Prom gowns for needy girls.
Organizations such as Catherine's Closet let low-income girls join the fun.
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After years of playing "dress-up," girls are poised for the prom and other formal events by the time they reach high school. Unlike fantasy, however, reality carries a hefty price tag, which can prevent some kids from attending the big night. The average cost to get primped and polished for the prom, according to a Condé Nast research survey, is $638.
Enter some real-life fairy godmothers, providing free or nominally priced gowns.
Sandy Kessler, who owns a financial services business in New Jersey, founded Catherine's Closet (catherinescloset.org) in memory of an honor student who was killed by a reckless driver in 2002 and buried in her prom gown. This organization, now seeking donations for scholarships, bestows free merchandise on thousands of inner-city girls -- dresses by Vera Wang and Armani, as well as jewelry, makeup, bags and shoes. Details about this year's giveaway, next Saturday, are on the Web site.
Joyce Jesko of Fairy Godmothers Inc. (www.fairygodmothersinc.com) in suburban Philadelphia charges $5 for new and gently used gowns: "We provide one-on-one personal shoppers, and we have everything from tiny strapless nothings to very full gowns with crinolines." The gowns go up to size 28.
There's no charge for gowns and accessories at the boutiques held by the Glass Slipper Project (glassslipperproject.org) in Chicago, which has given more than 6,000 girls the Cinderella treatment, and the Cinderella Project of New Hampshire (thecinderellaprojectofnh.org).
Visit the sites to read about sister projects and how you can donate money or gowns.
-- Kathy Baruffi
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