Through an established partnership with Communities In Schools – Bay Area, research began in August 2006 to implement a prom project component.
Assistance League® members’ success inspired this idea in Clear View High School’s inaugural prom the previous year, where they decorated the gymnasium and provided dresses for some girls.
After evaluating successful programs across the country, and with the approval of Communities In Schools – Bay Area staff, additional duties included establishing Operation Cinderella as the project’s name, defining referral criteria, creating referral documents, developing Boutique Day guidelines, and designing invitations. With a target date of January 2007, volunteers collected and sorted through donations and purchased necessary items. They worked with local businesses to get tux rentals at cost and salons and spas to donate their services. The original Resale Shop in Seabrook served as a delivery location, but space was limited, so member Carol Short opened up her home to provide a second alternative.
Throughout the years, numerous businesses have partnered with the chapter, including Starlit Soiree, Jill’s Fashions and Bridals, Al’s Formal Wear, and Dress Galaxy, and salon services through Remington College, San Jacinto Cosmetology, The Salon at COM, Paul Mitchell the School Clear Lake, and individual proprietors.
In the first year, Assistance League dressed over 40 girls with 200 dresses to choose from and provided almost 20 tuxes. Last year, they served 94 females and 38 males, with over 1,000 dresses in inventory.
The program launched with five schools and now serves students from seven school districts.
Operation Cinderella began with one Boutique Day and now schedules numerous ones across several weeks at the chapter’s philanthropy room, located at Clear Creek ISD’s Learner Support Center.
It started as a partnership with CIS and is now a standalone program that serves as a model for Assistance League chapters.
JROTC military balls for Clear Creek and Deer Park ISD female students are now a program component.
This past year, two members created corsages and boutonnieres, and Dress Galaxy allowed the young men to come for a suit fitting, which they could keep and reuse instead of a tuxedo rental.
Assistance League’s Operation Cinderella is a testament to the power of community partnerships and volunteerism. Operation Cinderella has allowed countless students to attend prom and military balls, making memories that will last a lifetime.
