Seeing the smiles on the grads’ faces as they see their reflection in the full-length mirror brings Dianne Thomas back, year after year.
Thomas beamed, herself, today at Carihi Secondary, as the grads tried on their new dresses and suits.
“I do this because of what it brings to the kids, to see their faces,” Thomas said.
This is the 15th year that she and Barb MacDougall have coordinated the Campbell River Cinderella Project.
It’s a program that outfits grads with dresses and formal wear for little, and in many cases, no charge.
“Our entire mandate is to ensure that every grad, boy and girl, goes to prom feeling fantastic, regardless of ability to pay,” she said.
“Our suits are a lend, but our dresses are free.”
This year they’re offering a ‘Green Option’ to rent a dress for $50 for those that don’t want to purchase a new dress for a single occasion.
“(That’s) because that’s what it costs to get them dry-cleaned,” she said.
The entire inventory of dresses and suits are donated by the community and Thomas and MacDougall appreciate the generosity.
So do the grads, especially with new dresses often selling for $400 and “going up from there,” Thomas said.
Thomas added that the number of donations they get each year “ebbs and flows.”
This week, they’re taking their dresses and suits to the grads, touring three secondary schools over three days.
“Some years we’ve dressed 30, and we’ve always done it out of my house,” Thomas said. “This year we’ve brought it to the schools so that it’s more accessible to everybody, and in one day we’ve already dressed seven (grads).”
Thomas said emotions vary from grad to grad: “Tears, smiles… they stand a little straighter, you can just tell by their whole demeanour. It’s the smile, that they’ve got it.”
The last chance this year will be a three-day opening at Urban Dance Connection on March 14, 15, and 16.
To donate or contact Thomas or McDougall, visit the Cinderella Project Facebook page.
