Several women in Red Deer are seeking to gather gently used formal wear, semi-formal attire and accessories to give to women and girls who do not have the opportunity to purchase these items.

Melissa Morin, Katherine Meadows and Cheryl Kowalsky have come together to create the Once Upon A Princess Project, to collect and distribute these items to those who cannot afford to buy them. The ladies are hosting a collection and awareness event on Nov. 21st-22nd at Parkland Mall.

“I was going through my closet and realized I had lots of dresses that I hadn’t worn more than once and they are fancy, expensive dresses. I thought I should donate or get rid of them but to someone that could really use it – that’s where it all clicked. Cheryl, Katherine and I got together the next day and came up with Once Upon a Princess,” explained Morin.

Morin said the women were trying to come up with an original, non-cash focused project that would allow them to give a little to their community. They are seeking to collect dresses, formal and semi-formal attire, shoes, accessories and beauty salon gift cards to distribute to women and girls in the community.

“We feel that no matter the financial situation or things a person is going through in their life, women shouldn’t have to forfeit feeling beautiful. We want people to have something nice to wear to their kids’ Christmas play, or friend’s wedding or for teenage girls to wear to their winter formal dances. Of course, we want them to also have that all year-round,” Morin said.

“Some people might have money to cover the basics like food, shelter and transportation but they don’t have the extra money for things like this.”

The ladies will be stationed near the Wal-Mart entrance of Parkland Mall to collect items and raise awareness of the project.

“We want to encourage women to donate a dress they never wear, or some jewellery and accessories. That way, we can get some awareness out about the project and people can help us a make a difference,” Morin said.

The donations aren’t limited to women – men can get involved by purchasing gift cards to hair salons, nail salons or beauty services that would be distributed through Once Upon A Princess. Morin, Kowalsky and Meadows have said the project is strictly no cash.

The group is available on facebook as ‘Once Upon A Princess’.

kmendonsa@reddeerexpress.com