After a five-year hiatus, the Cinderella’s Closet event will return to Chapel Hill on April 4-5 at the south campus of St.Thomas More Catholic Church to provide high school girls with a prom dress shopping experience, no matter what their financial situation is.
Through the use of brand new and gently used donations, the event will provide each shopper with a free prom dress.
The Chapel Hill Service League has adopted the event and is organizing it for this spring, which was previously organized by Christ United Methodist Church in Southern Village.
Founded in 1939, the Chapel Hill Service League is an all female, member-led organization for community service. President Stacy Hovey and Cinderella’s Closet Chair Lisa Beisser are excited to bring this event back for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
“We’ve been collecting since October, and we have close to 500 dresses already,” Beisser shared. “We were able to purchase some brand new dresses as well so we have an assortment ranging from size 00 to 24.”
During previous Cinderella’s Closet events, the church provided amenities like snacks for the girls and their guests. The event also featured seamstresses on site for minor alterations.
The Chapel Hill Service League hopes to continue to bring the same kind of magic to the event this year.
“We want them to have a fun shopping experience, similar to that of one in a boutique,” Hovey explained. “They will have their own personal shopper and around an hour to go through, try some dresses on and pick the one.”
Chapel Hill High School Social Worker Teresa Pitts is looking forward to attending the event alongside students. “In previous years, the church really did it up, and there was always a great turnout,” Pitts said. “It really is a fun event; they used to have hor d’ oeuvres and little goody bags for the girls and their guests.”
The Cinderella’s Closet organization also emphasizes the importance of body positivity and self-confidence during the event.
“We want this to be a positive experience for the students where they can get all the resources they need,” Beisser said.
Pitts highlighted the significance of events like Cinderella’s Closet that ensure all students—regardless of income—can participate in social activities that might otherwise be out of reach. “It’s important to have opportunities like this for students facing financial barriers,” she said. “Prom is expensive, and this helps ease some of that burden so they can focus on enjoying the experience.”
To sign up, students can look for one of the pink flyers hung around the school. The flyers feature a QR code that will take them to the sign up form. Students will be contacted by their school social worker once they have submitted the form.
The Chapel Hill Service League will also be taking donations of gently used prom dresses for the event. For more information, visit https://chapelhillserviceleague.betterworld.org/campaigns/cinderellas-closet-chapel-hill
