Providing dresses for prom

PERKINS TWP. — Other than a pair of glass slippers, one Sandusky-area establishment provides all the attire a girl would need to look her best for a monumental life moment. Cinderella's Closet, located at 5500 Milan Ave. (U.S. 250) in a storefront beside Samurai Japanese Steak House, expects to serve a record 400 girls in 2023: 200 for this year's prom and another 200 for homecoming in the fall. The nonprofit, which first opened in 2010, provided dresses for about 300 girls in total across 2022. "Our goal is for all girls to leave with a dress and feel beautiful on the evening of their prom or homecoming dance," said Annette Ferrell, the nonprofit's founder and main coordinator. "All dresses, shoes and jewelry are completely at no cost and a gift from Cinderella's Closet." The annual designer handbag bingo event, which most recently occurred in February, serves as the main fundraiser for this initiative. It generates the necessary dollars to offset costs girls, or their families, would pay for dresses along with other items Cinderella's Closet offers. When Cinderella's Closet opened for the prom season, on March 29, dozens showed up to try on formalwear. Among those in attendance: Hailey Hilton and her mom, Alisha, who traveled from Amherst. "This is her junior year, and we came out to see if she can find that special dress," said Alisha, adding she appreciates how "no matter how much money you have, you can get a special dress for that special occasion." Hailey gave a shout-out to the team of volunteers, masquerading as fairy godmothers, greatly helping her out. They assist girl in picking out their wardrobes, measuring dresses and accessorizing. "Everyone here is so nice," Hailey said. "They support you here." Kaylee Fox and her mother, Anne, both of Oak Harbor, shared a similar experience. "We knew this year it was going to be a little difficult financially for us to get a dress. A friend of ours told us about this place to get a dress," Anne said. "I'm happy she gets a dress that she really wants and feels pretty." Added Kaylee: "It makes me feel good about myself." Checking in on Cinderella's Closet Ferrell answered some more questions about Cinderella's Closest: Q: What is the mission of Cinderella's Closet? AF: Cinderella's Closet provides high school girls that do not have the financial resources with formal dresses, shoes and jewelry for their prom and homecoming dances. All formal wear provided from Cinderella's Closet is a gift for the girls who visit our closet. Through donations of new and gently used formal dresses, shoes, jewelry and handbags, we are able to "turn dresses into dreams" for juniors and seniors referred to our organization. Our mission statement is the following: "Cinderella's Closet encourages confidence in high school girls while granting wishes with formal attire and recognizing the beauty and diversity of these young women." Cinderella's Closet is celebrating our 13th year serving girls not only from Erie County but many other counties. We receive referrals from high school counselors, children services, teachers, parents/guardians and grandparents. Q: How is this year's event different than in the recent past? AF: Cinderella's Closet is serving high schools for prom 2023 without any restrictions, which we did have restrictions in 2021 and 2022 due to COVID. This year, for prom 2023, we are operating as we did in the past before COVID, and we anticipate the need to be great this year due to the economy and the high cost of living. We find that many of the girls that we serve would not attend their prom if it were not for Cinderella's Closet due to a dress not being a necessity. The financial means are not available for many of the girls to purchase a dress from an exclusive dress boutique, and that is why we want to give the girls that experience. Cinderella's Closet anticipates serving 200 girls for prom 2023 and 200 girls for homecoming 2023. We are open on several Wednesday evenings during the prom and homecoming seasons with a couple of Saturdays. There is definitely an increase in appointments, and they are filling quicker than in the past years. Q: How can people make an appointment? AF: Cinderella's is by appointment only, and we have opened up additional shopping dates on Wednesday, April 19 and Wednesday, April 26 from 5-8 p.m. We schedule one-hour appointments and serve 24 girls within three hours. Cinderella requests that all girls have an appointment so that we can make sure that they have a positive shopping experience. Appointments can be requested at waitwhile.com/locations/cinderellascloset or cinderellascloset.sanduskyspotlight.com. Q: What should people know before attending? AF: Cinderella's Closet does not require or request any documentation for income eligibility. We request that girls be currently attending high school and attending their prom or homecoming dance. Q: How do the dresses get paid for? AF: Cinderella's Closet Designer Handbag Bingo is our only fundraiser that we hold, and it helps us to financially support our yearly cost for prom/homecoming dresses, shoes, other operating expenses and jewelry. Although our annual fundraiser was successful, we are always accepting monetary donations to support our annual operating expenses. Cinderella's Closet has no paid staff and is solely operated by volunteers. Cinderella's Closet accepts dress, shoes and jewelry donations all year round, and we are always in need of plus-size dresses. Q: How can people donate? AF: Cinderella's Closet is always accepting gently used and new dress donations. We also accept shoes, jewelry and evening purse donations. Donations can be arranged by contacting Cinderella's Closet at afcindercloset@aol.com. Monetary donations can be made out to Cinderella's Closet, 5500 Milan Road, Unit 342, Sandusky, OH 44870. People can also visit cinderellascloset.sanduskyspotlight.com. Cinderella's Closet is on Facebook, Cinderellas Closet Northeast Ohio, and Instagram, as cinderellascl.