the Informer

Prom is an important time in almost every girl’s life, but sometimes buying a dress is too expensive for some. To help out, the university has partnered with the West Hartford Girl Scouts to collect gently used prom dresses, shoes and accessories.

Jen Schaefer, the office coordinator for the CETA architecture department, has been heading the collection.
Everything donated will be brought to the Fairy Godmother Initiative’s free event on March 27 in Portland, Conn. at St. Clement’s Castle.

“This event’s objective is to give away free dresses, shoes, accessories, and beauty products to girls who cannot afford appropriate prom wear,” said Schaefer. “In return, the beneficiaries will donate an item off a local women and children’s shelter.”

Schafer is a leader for the fifth grade Girl Scouts at the Webster Hill Elementary School in West Hartford. “We were contacted by the Connecticut Association of Adoptive and Foster Parents to help with their event,” she said.
“Six of my scouts have chosen to work with them for their Bronze Award, which is the highest recognition for a Junior Girl Scout,” she said.

So far, the group has collected approximately 20 dresses. Schaefer has been collecting dresses at the entrance to Gengras Student Union since March 4, and students can continue to donate until Friday, March 12.

The Fairy Godmother Initiative began in 2008 with the help from Myra Roldan, Cheryl Monk and girls from Lauralton Hall Academy in Milford, Conn. In the first year, the group held two dress boutique events and provided free dresses to approximately 350 girls.

The next year the group spread to include donations to girls in New York and Massachusetts as well.

The only condition is that girls who receive dresses are asked to bring an item from the Fairy Godmother Initiative’s Wish List to be donated to a local shelter.

This year, the items collected will be donated to Enchanted Makeovers, which “transforms shelters for women and children into places of peace and possibilities—not just where basic needs are met, but spiritual needs for hope and beauty also,” according to the Fairy Godmother Initiative’s Web site.