The Princess Project

As a parental figure (aunt), I cannot say enough good things about the Princess Project experience. Only qualification is proof of current high school status (student id).
The ‘fairy godmothers’ were awesome, directing us to the right sizes/​section and providing advice.
It was well organized by size and color.
My niece found 3 dresses rather quickly, and one of them was THE dress… fit her to a tee and looked like it was custom made for her… probably a $ 500 dress looking at the quality and beading.
Then it was on to the accessory room for one additional item… in her case, the perfect shoes!
A shawl and more goodies on checkout… She truly felt like a princess and all the volunteers cheered her selection.
All the fairy godmothers were awesome.
If I have read the website correctly, this is an all volunteer organization and none of the funds they receive go to overhead or salary. The space is donated. The dress selection is great. It was a truly feel-​good experience from start to finish.

This was the volunteer opportunity were I was the Fairy Godmother and helped «Cinderella» find her dress for the ball.
Princess Project was created in Feb 2002 when a girl wanted to go to the prom but could not afford a dress. The founder of Princess Project did a dress drive and received an enormous amount of support from the SF Bay Area. Since then, they have served nearly 20,000 teens.
If you are a teen that needs a dress for the prom visit
the last giveaway is 3÷22÷14.
If you want to be a Fairy Godmother visit
I decided to volunteer as a dress runner. Basically, I was the one who ran up and down the stairs putting the «unwanted» dresses back on the rack. They have other opportunities such as; check-​in (done outside), personal shopper (helps the girls pick out the dress they want), check-​out (done inside).
This was the earliest volunteer I’ve done to date. We woke up at 6am to get to SF by 7:45am. BART is not close to this location (2099 Market Street). You would need to take a bus to Church Street from BART. If you know me, you know I don’t go on BART/​bus without my honey. So, with a little begging and pleading, I convinced my honey to drive me here! Thanks babe!
Once I arrived and signed in. They gave a cute apron to wear. The organizer gave a tutorial on what will happen and we went off to our positions to get ready for the girls.
They bring in 20 groups of girls at a 15 – 20 min increment. The girls have 10 mins to find a dress with their personal shopper, 10 mins to try it on and 5 mins to get a free accessory. You are probably wondering how this is possible. I thought the same exact thing, but it is possible. Obviously, you have those girls/​moms who deviate from the rules. On Sat, they had about 400 girls. On Sun, I would say they probably had half that amount.
After 5 hours of running up and down the stairs, it was time to go home. The experience was awesome! Seeing a girl get excited about a dress that both she and her mom had happy tears made it all priceless.
On this day I was the Fairy Godmother but on 3/​28, I will be Cinderella ready to kiss my Prince Charming at the ball!
Thank you Princess Project for making a girls dream come true.
Walnut Creek Open Space here we come!

I’m weeeeeeeell past my prom days, but I had such a wonderful time volunteering with the Princess Project in SF this past Saturday. Props to Megan, Erin, and the rest of the organizers for making group appointment day such a positive experience for volunteers and dress-​shoppers alike.
Ok, technically, I can’t speak on behalf of the girls, but as a «personal shopper,» I witnessed hesitant shyness transform into 10K-​watt smiles throughout the afternoon. All of the girls I helped were able to locate «the dress» as well as an accessory (earring, necklace, clutch, etc) — for free! Can’t beat that.
But then, the Princess Project organizers did. They set up a shopping/​dressing space that was gorgeous with grand columns, sweeping staircases, festive decorations, lots of natural light, and — best of all — racks and racks of dresses. Pretty sweet set-​up for all those «princess» moments :)
And even though short-​handed, they made sure that it was a safe, non-​judgmental, encouraging environment. Having endured wedding dress shopping in the not-​too-​distant past, I can say that this was way more fun! At the end of each appointment, I was totally rooting for my client and hoping she’d have a blast at her prom.
As a volunteer, I felt welcomed to be part of the Princess Project team, from the sign-​up process to check-​in/​orientation to the decked out snack table. It’s great to see a non-​profit not only tout admirable ideals but carry them out with such class and warmth as well.
XOXO to the Princess Project and all those beautiful girls!

I LOVE this organization, it & its volunteers have such a huge heart and really do help those out in need! That was me in high school during my prom! No real job, some part time crap at a retail store, no supportive parents to guide me through prom shopping, let alone even pay for my ticket, & cheap unloving dates that didn’t offer any help either! Thank goodness for The Princess Project!
My friend told me about it and we both went to try it out. Waited in line, wait was not long. We were given a volunteer to help us find/​try on a dress. Dresses are categorized by size and although they’re not the most stylish dresses out there, they weren’t the ugliest either. You’re probably wondering, what’s the catch? There is none! Unless you consider the time limit the catch. I forget how much time you are given to find a dress, but I was able to try on 5 dresses before picking one.
Next after you pick a dress, you go to the accessories area. You can pick 1 accessory and choose from gloves, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, small purses, and tiaras! After that they help you bag everything and give you 1 makeup piece. My friend got lip gloss and I got a bare minerals glitter blush.
YES, it was all free! I finished by giving them my name, address, and feedback of the organization. I went to this event somewhere in the East or North bay. I forget. But it was back in 2007 I believe. not sure if this is how they still do things, but it’s definitely worth a shot if you need the help. Thank you guys again!

This is an amazing organization that gives away thousands of prom dresses and accessories to young girls that can not afford to purchase such items. They work hard throughout the year to raise money and collect dresses that are in good to excellent condition.
On giveaway day the girls arrive at a location that has been transformed into a Princess Project «boutique». Complete with decorations, contemporary music and a separate accessory room. Princess Project wants to make every girl feel special and not be embarrassed by their economic status. The girls leave with a prom dress, a gift bag filled with makeup, jewelry and other goodies, and most importantly smiles on their faces.
I am so proud to be a volunteer for this organization.

«The Princess Project promotes self-​confidence and individual beauty by providing free prom dresses and accessories to high school girls who cannot otherwise afford them. Our effort is made possible through invaluable volunteer, donor and community support.» (
)
This is my second year volunteering with The Princess Project, and this time I’m chairing a committee. After hearing some of the feedback about lack of sizes, long lines, and girls not being able to find *the* dress… these are obstacles that PP faces every year due to resource limitations. Want to help? Here’s how:
–Donate dresses. The more dresses we get, the more selection the girls get!
–Donate money.
–Donate time. We need volunteers in the planning stages as well as the day of the events. It’s such a gratifying experience to volunteer and help the girls with their dress selection process.
This year, we are holding Dress Giveaways in San Francisco, the East Bay, Silicon Valley, and San Diego… and as the organization grows, we’ll be spreading out all across the US.
SUCH a great thing to be a part of. If you want to get involved, send me a PM!

This is a wonderful organization. Prom is one of those uniquely American creations. If you want to go, but you and your parents can’t finance it, that could be devastating.
This organization collects and organizes donations of prom dresses and accessories. Then they distribute them to high school girls. I helped participate in the dress give away days, and it was very rewarding.

What a wonderful and memorable experience this was.
I volunteered at the Princess Project earlier this weekend and had so much fun helping girls find prom dresses.
The event was very organized and the committee and other volunteers were so nice and friendly. They sure did a great job making sure their volunteers were taken care of (bagels, pizza, doughnuts… oh my!)
In case you are unaware about what the Princess Project is all about…(local stores, other businesses, students, and people donate prom dresses, acsessories to this event where girls that are high school seniors get to pick out a free dress and accessory).
There was a great turn out this year and it was such a joy to see the excitement on each of the girl’s faces. It makes you feel so nostalgic about when you were in high school preparing for your prom. The best part of this event was getting to see a girl pick out my old prom dress that I wore to my senior ball 3 years ago…
This is a fun event and I highly reccomend anyone interest to volunteer next year! Also if you have prom dresses at home… hold onto them for next year’s donation.

I was never one of those girls who got sucked in by «16 candles», that thought that one magical night would change everything. I also didn’t really worry about it-​my high school had this deal where every hour you volunteered for your class was tracked and translated into money towards various senior year expenses-​yearbook, prom tickets, etc. Being an overachiever who peaked in high school, my prom was paid for and Mom took me to buy a nice dress, which I unbelieveably still wear to weddings today (No, I’m not telling you if I wore it to yours)
There are many girls, however, who dream of prom, and I delight in making what might otherwise be a pipe dream a reality through the Princess Project. It’s year 2 for me of volunteering. I’ve sorted jewelery, categorized dresses, stamped bags, and made goody bags. Tomorrow is the big dress giveaway-​where high school girls who might otherwise miss the prom get to pick out their dresses. It’s like playing fairy godmother! Can’t wait.
The location moves each year and is dependent on donated space-​so they’ll take a lot more donations than just dresses, including seamstresses able to fix dresses, makeup artists, etc. The committee goes so far out of its way to look at the small details that really make it special for girls. It’s nice to see that Macy’s donates a significant amount of merchandise to this worthy cause. Newsletters are informative, and not so frequent that they become spam.

hey ladies… and trannies… donate your gowns to this princessa von projekta… we may be past winter proms and débutante balling balls… and we need to have some more ladies da aint hoochie mama or baby mamas… just princesses!

It was a pleasure volunteering with such a well-​run organization, and one that brings a smile to so many faces! Helps young women who may not otherwise be able to afford a dress for prom to get one for free (and there are no questions asked, which is nice). Sometimes I thought the moms were more excited than the young ladies.
A terrific idea and organization.