Zeta Phi Beta sorority is putting a twist on a classic story with its Cinderella Project. By collecting prom dresses for young women in the Burlington community who may not be able to afford one on their own, the sorority is helping create a fairytale for more than 150 high school girls.
The Cinderella Project started at Hugh M. Cummings High School in Burlington. Rhonda Robinson, a guidance counselor at Cummings, started what she called "Prom Closet" after coming to the school seven years ago, with the goal of providing free prom dresses to students.
When Samantha Simunyu, president of Zeta Phi Beta, approached Robinson about doing a service project to benefit the female students at Cummings, the two began discussing Prom Closet. From this, the Cinderella Project was born.
"Our chapter has been actively involved in our community with programs that have impacted Alamance County," Simunyu said.
She said she has a particular enthusiasm for the Cinderella Project.
"It's an extremely neat way to foster effective change in the local community," she said.
Simunyu said the project will provide long-term benefits for the women it helps.
"As an organization founded on strong woman empowerment values we strive to provide the tools young women can use to be the leaders of their community, schools and future," she said.
While collecting dresses is at the heart of the Cinderella Project, Simunyu and the rest of Zeta Phi Beta have expanded on the original concept by creating a Boutique Day, which would allow interaction between the sorority and the recipients of the dresses.
"I don't want to merely drop off a big bag of dresses," Simunyu said. "I wanted the girls to feel special."
"Boutique Day" featured two educational workshops, a performance by the campus hip-hop group Elon's Finest, lunch, prizes and gifts. The boutique was then opened for the girls, and they were allowed to take home multiple dresses. In addition, a consultant from makeup company Mary Kay was available to give prom makeup pointers, and all of the girls took home a Sephora goodie bag.
According to Simunyu, Boutique Day and the Cinderella Project in general have been successful with the young women of the Burlington community that it benefits.
"A lot of the young women were very thankful and were happy to have had the opportunity to participate in the event," she said.
Robinson agreed.
"It was a wonderful day," she said. "The students raved about the event and parents were more than complimentary of the activity."
Last year, Zeta Phi Beta was able to collect more than 150 dresses for this project. This year, with Graham High School added to the program, their goal has increased.
"To increase awareness of the cause, we are using as many marketing tactics as we can," Simunyu said.
The sorority chapter has started a Facebook and Twitter account for the event under the name "Tiara Couture."
"Ultimately, I'm only hoping to have as much success as we had last year," Simunyu said.