Cinderella Gown Project
By Lynne HermanFashion Studies teacher, Sir Winston Churchill High School
The Cinderella Gown Project was initiated this fall at Sir Winston Churchill High School. Our goal was to provide fashionable grad dresses to Calgary students who may not otherwise attend grad because of an inability to afford a dress and the additional expenses. Graduation is such an important milestone in a student's life and so we were hoping to provide dignified support for these Grade 12 ladies.
We started small with an appeal for dress donations from within our own school community. The Burns Memorial Fund then helped us with ads in the Herald. That really got the ball rolling, with subsequent publicity by CBC radio and T.V., CFCN, CBC National, the Herald, the Sun and the A channel Big Breakfast show. The donations for dresses started coming in slowly, and then we were happily inundated with over 600 gowns! The students in the Fashion classes at our school became involved in this project by using their expertise to update, repair and in a few cases, remake the dresses. They also experienced the excitement of being interviewed by the news media. Martinizing Drycleaners cleaned all the dresses at no charge, preparing them beautifully for the Distribution Event on April 16th.
We fitted dresses for over 100 students from 19 Calgary high schools. Counselors and other teachers acted as our confidential school contacts. The Delta Bow Valley Hotel donated two ballrooms for the event. Over 50 volunteers were present to help students select a dress, and be their “Fairy Godmother” for the day. A hundred girls with glowing faces descended the spiral staircase at the Delta after their fittings, in true Cinderella fashion, with their gorgeous gowns and accessories in arm. There were 350 final gown selections to choose from to help create that magical grad evening for the hopeful young ladies and their parents. The event brought tears of joy, hugs and goose bumps to everyone involved. It was truly a labor of love.
A huge heart felt thank you goes to the hundreds of individuals who took the time to donate their beautiful gowns. Accolades in particular to the Burns Memorial Fund for the idea and the financial support for our advertising campaign; to Martinizing Drycleaners; to the Delta Bow Valley Hotel for the beautiful ballrooms; and to our corporate sponsors. Gratitude is extended to the staff and students of Sir Winston Churchill High School who helped make this project a success for the young ladies, far beyond our highest expectations.
This project was an experiment this year and grew into an enormous success. The Calgary Board of Education plans to support the endeavor in a substantial way next year.
Again, we thank everyone for their help and generosity and hope for their continued support next year. We set out to connect girls with gowns for grad. The Cinderella Gown Project has been a magical fairy tale come true.
