Yesterday I got up and had a hearty breakfast of sweet potato pancakes with black coffee. Fed my dogs and headed over to McCorkle School at 44th & State just seven blocks away to help the folks with The Glass Slipper Project set up this year’s boutique.
On the way I came across a woman who was looking for State Street and it turned out she was going to McCorkle. She offered me a ride and we drove the three blocks to the school. We got there early, and they put us to work right away.
I was directed to the 2nd floor to assemble rolling racks for hanging the dresses. There were about 8-10 of us together in that classroom so it only took about 15 minutes to assemble dozens of racks. Another group of volunteers were wiping them down to clean off any dust and dirt.
After that we were directed to other classrooms where boxes upon boxes of dresses had been delivered from storage. The task ahead was simple, unpack all the boxes and place the dresses on the racks.
The boxes were largely organized by size and color and had a hanger bar for the dresses. Unfortunately many of the boxes had dresses that fell off and were lying at the bottom. I was in the size 2-4 room with three other really nice volunteers, Nancy, Chris and Grace.
We found out that the CPS lets them use a different vacant school every year. This year the location is a former fine arts elementary school. The location was smaller and they were probably not going to accommodate as many young women as last year.
People will line up before dawn and wait for hours to get their chance to browse the boutique. Each girl who is looking for a dress is accompanied by a personal shopper volunteer who will guide them through picking a prom dress, shoes, makeup, accessories and an alternation if needed.
We spent almost four hours unpacking and sorting and then we were called downstairs because lunch was ready. After a short break to have some Potbelly’s sandwiches we went back to unpacking and after another 45 minutes we finished all the boxes in our room.
It wasn’t really strenuous work and the company was friendly. I spoke with Dorian who organizes this project and told her about my goal for this year. She was very nice and supportive.
They updated their website this year and even have a facebook group.Glass Slipper Project Page
It is nice to know I helped them get ready with their mission of providing prom dresses for those who may otherwise not have one.
Four down and only 46 more to go!