CityView Magazine

52 | March/April 2015 giving Saying Yes to the Dress After they put the dress on, just like that, Cinderella comes out BY ERIN PESUT I n Fayetteville, there are real fairy godmothers. Since 2007, the Fayetteville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma eta Sorority, Inc., has helped give away 639 prom dresses to high school girls. Oen students have to pay a fee to attend prom and the additional cost of a dress (and ac- cessories) can discourage girls from going to an affair that is one of the most memorable highlights of high school, a mile- stone in being a teenager. Jerial Bogan, the Chair of Cinderella's Closet this year, explained, "Cinderella's Closet meets the need of providing fashionable formal attire to junior and senior high school girls free of charge." e volunteers of Cinderella's Closet advertise for commu- nity donations, coordinate schedules with local high schools and assist with their favorite task: working in the closet when girls come to find a gown. Planning and preparation begins in January. at's when Cinderella's Closet volunteers meet with social workers and guidance counselors from Fayetteville high schools who have been informed by girls who may be in need of a gown for prom. Cinderella's Closet schedules times for each school to visit the closet (located this year at Belk in Cross Creek Mall) before prom to try and find their dress. eir collection: an entire closet filled with formal dresses, all donated by the local community. On the day of their appointment, the girls, usually in a group of 15 to 20, arrive at Belk with their social worker. Each high school has a specific date and time to look through the closet. ough these appointments take place during the school day, with the approval of each high school's principal, Photography by Byron Jones The Fairy Godmothers: Jerial Bogan, Eva Williams & Pat Moore

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