Cinderella’s Closet
Cinderella Stories
SPRING 2007 ISSUE 1, VOLUME 1
115 Princesses at Cinderella’s Closet
Even more important than providing a beautiful prom dress, we were able to provide an experience like no other for these young ladies. Once they entered Cinderella’s Closet, they were lavished with hospitality, love and grace. They left believing they were cherished. It is for this reason that we opened Cinderella’s Closet. This outreach has become a vital part of what we do at Immanuel United Methodist Youth Ministries. We would not be as successful without your generosity and support. Thank you for helping to “Turn Dresses into Dreams.”
2007 Highlights By the Numbers
115 Princesses served from 25 high schools and organizations 1,200+ dresses collected 100+ Volunteers 3,700+ unique visits to
www.cinderellasclosetnky.org
Cinderella’s Closet’s inaugural year could be called nothing but a success. We were able to collect over 1,200 dresses and countless accessories through our community and high school dress drives. This inventory allowed us the honor and pleasure to serve 115 princesses. They were referred from over 25 high schools, community organizations and churches in 10 counties in Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana.
10 county area served in 2007 (Boone, Kenton, Campbell, Bracken, Owen, Pendleton, Gallatin, Grant, Carroll, and Dearborn)
Princess Diaries—In their own words
It was such a wonderful experience to help each and every one of our Princesses. It is impossible to put into words the joy felt from giving these girls an experience to remember. The following is a sample of the notes that we have received from our Princesses. “Thank you for a great day and helping me find my perfect dress. Not only will I look amazing, I’ll feel it too. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you. “Thank you for helping me I had so much fun at Cinderella’s Closet.” To the alterations ladies, “Thank you for making my dress beautiful.” “Thank you for everything you have done for me. Prom is going to be life changing for me and you were a big part of it” “Thank you so much for the wonderful opportunity. I had a really good time. I have never been to something like that, it was a great experience.” “I wanted to thank you all for what you did for my daughter. It meant the world to her. I was so impressed (moved to tears is more like it) at the professional operation you had set up. “ “I appreciate the help you gave me in finding my beautiful prom dress. It really meant a lot to me.”
Inside this issue:
Princess Hangers In Pictures 2008 Cinderella’s Closet Dates 2008 Needs 2008 Donations About Cinderella’s Closet 2007 Sponsors
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CINDERELLA STORIES
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2007 Princess Hanger Campaign
Please honor a 2007 Cinderella’s Closet Princess by donating a wooden hanger in her name. For a $25 donation, a beautiful wooden hanger will be decorated with the name of one of our princesses and your name. If you served as a Fairy Godmother and would like your donation to honor your favorite princess, just include a note with her name and the date you volunteered. Otherwise we will select a princess. Our Princess Hangers will placed in Cinderella’s Closet and hold the Dresses of our Princesses Dreams for years to come. All donations are tax deductible and will be used to purchase plus size dresses, larger size shoes and storage materials for next year. Checks should be made out to
Coming Soon to the Website: Cinderella’s Closet T-shirts
IUMC—Cinderella’s Closet, with Princess Hangers in the note section. Please send to donations to: Cinderella’s Closet PO Box 18824 Erlanger, KY 41018
In Pictures
Our Alterations ladies making every dress beautiful
Some of the Cinderella’s Closet inventory
A princess and a fairy godmother showing us their best moves on March 24th
Hard at work on set-up night
www.cinderellasclosetnky.org
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ISSUE 1, VOLUME 1
Mark your calendars for 2008 2008 Shopping Days Fridays March 14 & 28 2pm to 6pm Saturdays March 15 & 29 10am to 6pm Needed for 2008
Alterations Ladies—Our alternations ladies were wonderful this year. Having the dresses altered on the spot is like the icing on the cake for our princesses. In our hope to help twice as many girls next year, we will need more ladies to lend a hand with sewing. If you are handy with a needle and thread let us know and we will put you on the contact list. Plus Size Dresses—If you see a great deal on a fashionable plus size prom dress, please consider buying it and donating it to Cinderella’s Closet. Plus sizes are always needed and we purchase most of the ones in our inventory. Formal Shoes—We will always be in need of formal shoes. The girls seem to prefer formal sandals in gold, silver or black. If you see some on sale, please consider donating them to Cinderella’s Closet. Committee Members—We would like to find enthusiastic people who would like to be more committed to helping Cinderella’s Closet year round. It is a fairly large commitment and would require a bit of time through out the year. We need people to help with finding sponsors, writing grants, organizing volunteers, website design and communications. If you would like to be more involved, let us know. Please mark your calendars for next year’s Shopping days. We anticipate serving twice as many girls, which means we need lots volunteers. We will also need help on the Work Day and for set-up/clean-up. Watch for those dates later in the year. Please consider helping Cinderella’s Closet next year. We will send requests for volunteers beginning in January 2008.
Some of our 2007 Fairy Godmothers
2008 Donations
Hold Donations at Immanuel UMC—After the March 24, 2007 Shopping Day, our entire inventory of dresses and accessories were packed up and moved to storage. It would be a big help to us and our church secretaries if you could hold general donations at Immanuel UMC until January 2008. Year-Round Donations— Dresses may be donated all year to Fabulous-Bridal as part of the “Prom Rewards Program”. We also welcome any specific “Dress Drives” year round or High School “After-Prom Dress Drives”, contact us for details and help. New Donation Guidelines— We are asking that dresses donated to Cinderella’s Closet be less than 5 years old and be of a current style for teenagers. Dresses should be formal gowns, bridesmaid dresses or fancy party dresses. We want to make sure that our princesses have the best selection and thanks to your generous donations, they currently have over 1,200 beautiful dresses to choose from.
Please consider having an “After-Prom” Dress Drive at your High School We can help with publicity and are happy to pick up the donations
www.cinderellasclosetnky.org
Cinderella’s Closet
Cinderella’s Closet PO Box 18824 Erlanger, KY 41018 Immanuel United Methodist Church 2551 Dixie Highway Lakeside Park, KY 41017 Phone: 859-341-5330 E-mail: contactus@cinderellasclosetnky.org
Every little girl dreams of being a princess – at Cinderella’s Closet we make that dream come true. Through donations of new and gently used formal dresses and accessories, we are able to turn dresses into dreams for financially disadvantaged girls all over Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana. Each princess is referred to our organization by her school guidance counselor, church pastor or social worker. Guided by her own personal “fairy Godmother”, each Cinderella selects her dream dress and accessories from among the selection in our “Cinderella’s Closet.” Both are free – and are hers to keep. There are so many people who have beautiful gowns in their closets that have had only one night to shine. We’ll never really wear those bridesmaids and party dresses again – why not share them with girls who might not otherwise go to prom without them?
www.cinderellasclosetnky.org
Cinderella’s Closet is an effort inspired by a teenager I met while shopping at a consignment store. I overheard her ask a clerk if the beautiful, gently-used gown on display could be put on hold while she figured out how to pay for it.
Cinderella’s Closet— Turning Dresses into Dreams
She asked her foster mother for the money, but a prom dress is an extra in life, and its price was out of their reach. Seeing her disappointment, I bought the dress for her. As tears flooded her eyes, she thanked me and said she would look “just like Cinderella.” For one day, a little girl was transformed into a princess. I was transformed as well. Shortly thereafter, Cinderella’s Closet became a ministry of Immanuel Methodist Church. We outfitted 115 girls in 2007 with their dream dresses and accessories for their school’s formal events.
Thank you to our 2007 Sponsors
Please tell them how much you appreciate their support of Cinderella’s Closet.
Fast Signs Concord Cleaners Nails Unlimited
We are still in need of a couple of more specific sponsors, including a printing sponsor for promotional materials and shoe sponsor to supplement our inventory. If you know of anyone that would be interested, please let us know.
M-E Companies KW Mechanical, Inc. Hellman Lumber Fabulous-Bridal GNS Embroidery
Hairlines Salon Uniquely Senise Vintage Salon Michael’s College of Hair
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