The glorious season of spring is finally upon us, and with it comes a progressively worsening degree of senioritis, allergies, ACT cramming and, of course, the buzz of Prom coming right around the corner.
While many girls are scrambling from store to store to find the right dress, it is the unfortunate reality that some girls are unable to afford to buy a new Prom dress, or to even buy a Prom ticket. This is when the Glass Slipper Project comes in to save the day.
This year, Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center and Westfield Hawthorne are partnering with the Glass Slipper  Project, a non-profit organization that gives away free Prom dresses to girls in the Chicago area. The lightly-worn Prom dresses and accessories are all donations that are distributed at Glass Slipper Boutiques. At these boutiques, each girl receives a personal assistant to help pick out the right dress. Niles North is involved with the project through two students taking business classes’ Seniors Vanessa Adame and Kiara Daves had previously inaugurated their own project, called Damsels in Distress, which shares Glass Slipper’s goal. Niles North has already collected nearly 40 dresses.
“A Prom dress is a memory and a big deal, which is why were are so thankful for everyone’s generosity,” Mary Nagelvoort, business teacher and DECA sponsor, said.
Students interested in donating Prom apparel can take them to Westfield Old Orchard mall, which will accept lightly worn dresses and accessories until Saturday, March 24. In return they will not only receive the gift of gratification for the good deed but will be put in the running to win one of three $50 gift cards.