LSU Alumni Around Campus Association News
The Cinderella Project Making Prom Dreams Come True
By Aaron E. Looney Photos by Eddy Perez
“I remember... prom was a big deal. I’m really excited... to help less fortunate students out there be able to enjoy prom.”
Sarah Dupree, co-founder of The Cinderella Project.
Assistant Professor Lisa Barona McRoberts, left, and her apparel design students create dresses for The Cinderella Project.
42 LSU Alumni Magazine | Summer 2011
In the spring, high school students across the country look forward to certain rites of passage. For young women who are juniors and seniors, this includes finding that perfect dress to wear to their annual prom event. Some students, however, may not be able to afford formal dresses for such occasions, which can ultimately have a negative effect on their self-esteem. Twenty-six students in the Textile Science, Apparel Design and Merchandising, or TAM, Division of the School of Human Ecology did their part to help those less fortunate students, as they joined with The Cinderella Project to help create and distribute prom dresses this season. “It’s an honor to be on this journey with The Cinderella Project,” says Lisa Barona McRoberts, assistant professor of human ecology. “The group’s deep commitment fosters positive self-image in teenage girls across Louisiana. Our participation in this endeavor affords us the opportunity to impact our community while instilling social responsibility in our students and integrating eco-conscious design and production techniques. We’re humbled to be assisting in the fulfillment of The Cinderella Project’s mission.” McRoberts explains that as part of her senior-level apparel production course, the students design a mini-collection of three garments. Their second garment, what she calls a “socially responsible” piece, was donated to The Cinderella Project. “I had the opportunity to make this a service-learning course for our seniors,” McRoberts says. “It’s given us an opportunity to give to our community, teach our students about responsibility and, hopefully, to create an impact so that as designers they will incorporate this into their practices.” Her students took existing dresses that might not be able to be distributed and repurposed the usable materials to create new dresses that can be used as part of the program, while respecting the environment.
Sarah Dupree (1998 BACH HSS), cofounder of The Cinderella Project, says her organization collects more than 8,000 dresses each year. Of those, only about one-third can be distributed within the organization’s guidelines. “What we’ve done in the past, and this year as well, is that the dresses we don’t use, we give to the LSU Textiles Museum for use at its sale to help raise funds for their projects as well,” Dupree says. “We’ve given things that have archival value as well. They’ve been a good help to us in moving forward, especially in this year.” Martha Landry, a senior design student from Baton Rouge, says she was happy to be working with The Cinderella Project. “This is a great opportunity to help people that may be in a situation where they can’t afford a prom dress,” she says. “I remember when I was in high school, and prom was a big deal. I’m really excited to be able to help less fortunate students out there be able to enjoy prom.” As part of the cooperative endeavor, a fundraiser fashion show titled “The Cinderella Project Runway” was held in March at the Lyceum Ballroom in Baton Rouge. The show featured garments designed and created by TAM students and LSU alumni who are local designers. These included Anthony Ryan Auld, Natasha Marie, Molly Stackhouse, Julie Thibodeaux, and Sarah Winn. “This is a first for our program and probably the biggest thing we’ve done to date,” Dupree says. “We are thrilled to partner with the talented students in LSU’s School of Human Ecology. By hosting this unique showcase event, we hope to inspire high school students to strive toward achieving their future academic and professional goals, whether they are in fashion design or other pursuits.” ON THE WEB www.huec.lsu.edu, www.ccell.lsu.edu, www. cinderellaprojectbr.org Aaron Looney is an editor in the Office of Communications & University Relations.