The Prom Hair Project was started in 2011 to assist in supporting volunteer run Prom Dress Boutiques who serve local girls (& boys) in need.
Nationwide effort to pay it forward for prom girls in need
From Hawaii, across Texas to New York, volunteers and "fairy
godmothers" are donating their time and paying it forward to help high
school girls & boys go to prom.
Donations of formal dresses, shoes, handbags, hair accessories and
unused makeup are collected, cleaned and stored at locations such as
high schools, churches, and community centers, then redistributed
through "prom boutiques" who offer a true shopping experience at no
cost to "customers" who most often could not attend their event
without this assistance.
"I feel grateful that the community supports the Bella Project with
donations and volunteer time. It is priceless to have a mom or
grandmother hug us with tears in their eyes thanking us for giving their
high school girl something that they themselves could not provide. Our
volunteers are the angels that lift their child to understand that there
is a dress reserved just for them." - Valerie Schmidt - Bella Project
in Honolulu, Hawaii
While many prom boutiques are locally run as a stand-alone operation,
there are organizations such as Becca's Closet and Cinderella's
Closet which have volunteer run chapters in many states.
In New York, Amy Heller of W Girls Inc aspires to assist as many girls
as possible this 2013 prom season:
"I already have 1500 young women registered to participate so I know
it will be a big year. We cut it off at 3000 invites and have never seen
less than 1000 girls walk through the door. The need here is so great.
That said, if we do get an excess of donations, we have chapters across
the US working with partner organizations to dress young women in other
cities. We also have a WGIRLS chapter in London that is currently
collecting beauty product donations to provide a day of beauty for women
in a domestic violence shelter there. No lip gloss will go unused!"
Most prom boutiques have a "shopping day" and "customers" are
often nominated or referred by schools and community-based non-profits.
"Prospective Princesses are nominated by family and friends via our
website to protect the identity of the girls involved. These are young
ladies who are involved within their community but just may not be able
to afford all the expenses of prom." - Julia Moreno of the Pretty as a
Princess Project in Tyler, Texas.
Companies are encouraged to locate the volunteer prom boutiques in their
area and donate directly to local efforts, or coordinate with a larger
non-profit organization for longer reach. Liz Havlin, inventor of the
Twistii UpDo Hair Styling tool is giving away thousands of hair
accessories to prom boutiques nationwide.
"Twistii was invented to create easy prom & wedding hairstyles. It
gives me such happiness to know that they (Twistiis) are out in the
world doing good for others. I was unable to go to my prom due to family
finances and this is my way of paying it forward for a prom girl in
need."
All prom boutiques were started with the "pay it forward" motto, and
they (prom boutiques) often have a story behind them. Here is a short
story from one real fairy godmother who acted on a online post from a
daughter desperately reaching out to find suitable clothing so her
mother could receive an award at a formal banquet:
The wise words of a real fairy godmother who wants to remain anonymous for now:
"... I saw a post online from the daughter of Ms. J which was posted
by her daughter. Ms. J was scheduled to receive an award at a ceremony
& banquet out of town, and her daughter was concerned that her mom
didn't have any clothing suitable for such a formal event. I was
heartbroken! I contacted Ms. J and said ‘Let's go shopping.'
At first, she (Ms. J) could not believe that a total stranger would have
such concern for her predicament. I picked her up, and off we went to
find 4 outfits, complete with jewelry. After lunch, and a nice visit,
I took her home. What a perfect day!
When you are a fairy godmother for a person in need, everyone feels like
they are on cloud 9. When asked what I would like as repayment, I
simply requested that she help someone else. I was named her fairy
godmother and Ms. J and her daughter went on to help many prom girls
live happily ever after... - A Fairy Godmother"
Need a dress, want to volunteer or donate?
Find the Prom Boutique in your area!
To find a prom boutique in your area, please follow the links below.
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Pretty as a Princess - Tyler, TX
http://ruthministries.webs.com/pretty-as-a-prin...
The Bella Project - Honolulu, Hawaii
https://www.facebook.com/TheBellaProject
(808) 538-8883
thebellaproject@juniorleagueofhonolulu.org
W Girls Inc - NY, NY
Amy Heller
917-648-0426
http://www.wgirls.org
The Prom Hair Project - Seattle, WA
Liz Havlin
206.605.4206
http://www.facebook.com/PromHairProject