On May 11th, 150 junior and senior girls participated in the Princess Project where they got to pick out a dress for free. 

The Princess Project is an organization that gives out free donated dresses and accessories to teens who can’t afford a formal dress. It has been around since 2002, when a girl needed a prom dress and the two founders, Laney Whitcanack and Kristi Smith Knutson, helped organize a dress drive. Since then, they have helped over 20,000 teens with the help of over 2,000 donors. 

“We got an email a few years ago from the organizers, telling us all about the organization,” Jennifer Bunden said. The girls submitted a Google Form expressing their interest on why they wanted to be part of the Princess Project. 

“I wanted to go because I didn’t have enough money, and wanted to save up for college,” senior Melissa Reyes said. Although she did not find a prom dress, she did find two dresses that she is planning to use for graduation. 

“I was trying to find a navy blue dress, there were a lot of options and I did end up finding one that I’ll take for prom,” junior Fabiola Solorio said. 

All girls were told that they would not be leaving without a prom dress, and they would do everything to help them find one. Usually there is a “godmother” who acts as a personal assistant to help a participant find the perfect dress, but this year they weren’t available due to it being short notice.

The girls had an hour to choose a dress, and were then given a “swag bag” containing skin care items. Being the school with the largest group participation, we were the only ones that went on Wednesday. “I’m really glad I got the chance to go, I got to find dresses in my style that I didn’t find at a formal dress shop.” junior Mireya Reyes said.