Selection for a looming Cinderella Project boutique day grew substantially Saturday, when the bulk of some 200 to 300 gowns donated in a nearly two-week dress drive were dropped off at St. Paul’s United Church in Sarnia, officials say.
The dress drive’s final-day drive-thru format was an addition this year, said Cinderella Project coordinator Brook Freer-Wiles. The last drive was in 2019.
“Just to make it easy for people to drop them off,” said Brook Freer-Wiles, also creative design lead with Sarnia-Lambton Rebound.
Maybe 40 to 50 dresses were dropped off at the youth agency’s headquarters between Feb. 28 and March 11, said volunteer coordinator Nicole McLean.
The response Saturday was “amazing,” she said.
“We have been sorting through so many … we’ve been very fortunate.”
Some suits, shoes and jewelry were also donated, but mostly dresses, she said.
It’s Rebound’s second year hosting a mass dress drive, after taking over from local Cinderella Story founder Debbie Anderson in 2018, Freer-Wiles and McLean said.
Dress drives and boutique days were on hold in 2020 and 2021 amid COVID-19, Freer-Wiles said.
Rebound also had limited space to store dresses, but recently, after a call for helpthe Devine Street church in Sarnia stepped up to offer space, she said.
Time slots have already started filling up for the boutique selection and fitting day April 2, 9 am to 6 pm at the church, Freer-Wiles said.
Girls who might not otherwise be able to afford expensive dresses for graduation and prom “get hooked up with a personal shopper, they get their own dressing room, and then they can just shop at their leisure,” she said.
Steamers will be available for wrinkles, and hopes are to have someone for minor alterations, McLean said.
“They can try on all the dresses until they find the one that’s the yes, the yes dress.”
In 2019, the program helped 118 youngsters, officials said.
About 16 volunteers were helping sort the donations Saturday at the church, McLean said, adding Rebound officials are looking forward to the boutique day’s return.
“It’s a magical day. It really is,” Freer-Wiles said.
“It’s all about just giving back to the youth, the community, and asking nothing of them other than just to come and pick a dress.”
Walk-ins boutique day will be accepted, but timing can’t be guaranteed, McLean said.
Registration details for time slots are available at reboundonline.com/programs/the-cinderella-project.