Libertyville High School will be collecting used formal dresses from now until March 16 for the Glass Slipper Project.
The project operates in the Chicagoland area and collects used formal dresses and gives them out for free to underprivileged high school girls so they can use the dresses for their prom. According to glassslipperproject.org, the project was founded in 1999 and through their efforts has helped 20,000 young women.
In the Libertyville area, it consists of a partnership between Zengler’s Cleaners and LHS. It surfaced eight years ago, in 2008, when Zengler’s approached the LHS club Interact.
Dresses for the Glass Slipper Project can be dropped off in Mrs. Uliks’s Office (next to the main office) and Interact encourages everyone to donate during the two-week time period.
Interact has donated as many as 50 dresses in some years, but hopes to see an increase in numbers, stated Interact adviser and Student Activities Director Mrs. Jennifer Uliks.
“Even if you are a community member, if you want to drop a dress off you can drop it off at Zengler’s cleaners,” shared Mrs. Uliks. “We try to get people from all over to participate.”
Once Interact collects the dresses, they bring them to Zengler’s Cleaners, where the company cleans and repairs the dresses. After they are repaired, they are sent to the main headquarters of the Glass Slipper Project and are distributed to a boutique location in the area.
This year’s boutique location is Price Elementary Street in Chicago. The boutique will be open on April 2 and 9 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. The project provides dresses from size 0-26.
Students who want to shop at the boutique do not need to sign up ahead of time but do need a valid school ID card. They will receive one dress along with one pair of shoes, one purse, up to three pairs of jewelry, and up to four pieces of makeup for free.
Community members volunteer at these boutiques and serve as “personal shoppers” who assist the girls as they shop for their prom dresses.
