Westhill held its second annual prom dress event on Wednesday April 13th, where students were able to shop for reasonably priced prom attire. Holly Hyman started the Cinderella Project three years ago when she overheard a girl in Stamford High’s parking lot talking about how she wouldn’t be able to go to prom because she couldn’t afford a dress. This really bothered Holly, so she began to collect dresses in hopes of providing them to people who were in the same position.
Holly posted about the event on Facebook and soon the dresses started pouring in left and right. She received donations from a church in Fairfield, Person to Person in Darien, and NBC Universal even set up a dress rack in Chelsea Piers. A Step Ahead in Stamford donated brand new sample dresses originally marked for as high as $720. In just her first month, Holly collected more than 200 gowns, 40 pairs of shoes and evening bags! While some of the dresses are worth hundreds, they are available through the Cinderella Project for $20 or less and all money made from the sales goes to helping fund for prom tickets.
The event was first introduced at Stamford High three years ago and just last year was hosted at both Westhill and AITE. A friend of Holly’s also introduced the event to Brien McMahon last year and altogether they raised $3000 for prom tickets! All while helping to make dress dreams for girls a reality.
The leftover dresses will be going to Kids Helping Kids, an organization with a mission to create leaders through youth-led service projects. The Executive Director, Jennifer Kelley, will be hosting an event on April 22nd at the Yerwood Center in Stamford where all dresses will be free, as well as makeup and shoots! It is absolutely amazing what Holly has done for the community and while it has helped those in financially straining circumstances, The Cinderella project is not just for people who can’t afford a dress.
