Putting the
‘Fair’ Back in
the Fairytale
Project Directors:
Marian Riner, LCSW, Fayetteville Public Schools, Fayetteville, AR
Shay E. Hopper, MAT, Woodland Jr High School, Fayetteville, AR
NAEHCY Annual Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, November 5 – 8, 2011
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Project Overview and Mission
Overview
- The Fayetteville High School (FHS) Glass Slipper
Prom Project (GSPP/ the ‘Project’) is a charitable venture of
Fayetteville Public Schools and Fayetteville High School
(FHS), and was created to serve actively enrolled students of
Fayetteville High School. The Project is operated by two
employees of the Fayetteville Public School system who
volunteer their time to the Project.
Mission
– The mission of the Project is to serve students of
low socio-economic status so that all can equally participate in
the traditional rite of passage of attending high school prom.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Who We Are…
• Fayetteville, AR is the county seat of Washington
County, and the third largest city in Arkansas.
• The city is centrally located within the county and
is home to the University of Arkansas.
• In the 2010 census, Fayetteville had a population
of 73,580. The racial makeup of the city was
86.50% White, 5.11% Black or African American,
1.26% Native American, 2.56% Asian, 0.16%
Pacific Islander, 1.99% from other races, and 2.42%
from two or more races. 4.86% of the population
were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Who We Are…
• Fayetteville was the second best educated city in
Arkansas in the Census, proportionately, with
44.8% of adults age 25 or older holding an
associate degree or higher, and 41.2% of adults
possessing a baccalaureate degree or higher.
• However, the city had the highest percentage of
adults with masters, doctorate, or professional
degrees (17.9%).
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Who We Are…
• The median income for a household in the city was
$31,345, and the median income for a family was
$45,074.
• The per capita income for the city was $18,311.
• 19.9% of the population and 11.4% of families were
below the poverty line.
• Out of the total population, 19.7% of those under
the age of 18 were living below the poverty line.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Who We Are…
• The racial makeup of the city is:
• 86.50% White
• 5.11% Black or African American
• 1.26% Native American
• 2.56% Asian
• 0.16% Pacific Islander
• 1.99% from other races
• 2.42% from two or more races
• 4.86% Hispanic or Latino of any race
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Who We Are…
• Fayetteville Schools
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total free and reduced 41.4% (2010)
total enrollment 8,899 students last year
154 students in FIT
Individuals served through the FPS food
pantry/clothing closet this year ~ 300
• Fayetteville High School
• student enrollment 1,812
• free/reduced #'s 26% (however, FHS has
off campus lunch and most FHS students
will not complete FRL forms)
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Project History
• The FHS Glass Slipper Prom Project began seven
years ago in the office of then Fayetteville High
School (FHS) counselor Leigh Hudson who had a
desire to help girls in need, attend prom.
• After two years of fitting young ladies in her
office, Leigh secured space in a former elementary
building to use as the “Glass Slipper Room.”
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Project History
• In the fourth year of the Project, Leigh married and moved
to central Arkansas and Marian Riner, FIT
Coordinator for Fayetteville Public Schools (FPS),
and Shay Hopper, an FPS junior high teacher and
former Project ‘personal shopper’ volunteer,
assumed leadership of the Project.
• Two years ago, after tremendous growth and
success, the Project was granted a larger facility by
FPS which allowed the Project to serve even more
students in need.
• In the last three years, the Project has grown from
serving 34 students, to 52, to 78 in 2011.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Project History
• The Glass Slipper Room is now located on FPS ALLPS
center campus (alternative high school) and has a
reception area, three dressing rooms, accessory
room and two large stock rooms.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
The Process
• The Glass Slipper Project process includes student
referrals and eligibility; invitations; shopping
days; volunteers; Sparkle Saturday; prom tickets
and returning items.
• Student referrals and eligibility are determined by
free and reduced lunch rosters; teacher, counselor
and/or director referrals, and those who have been
previously served.
• Only juniors and seniors are invited to be served
by the Project.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
The Process
• The Glass Slipper Project invites eligible students
through a formal invitation process. Invites are
hand-delivered to students and they must confirm
their interest by a specific deadline and schedule a
shopping appointment.
• Appointments on shopping days are scheduled by
the Project directors and the administrative assistant
at the attendance office of Fayetteville High School.
• Google Docs is the application used to store and
share appointment information between all
campuses.
The Invitation
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Shopping Days
• Upon arrival at Boutique Shopping Day, each
student shopper will be assigned an (adult)
personal shopper (volunteer) to assist her with the
selection of her dress, jewelry, shoes, etc.
• Each student shopper checks in at the boutique
desk immediately upon arrival.
• Shoppers are allotted 30 minutes of shopping
time to make dress selections and try on
garments and 15 minutes to select accessories
(shoes, purse, jewelry).
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Shopping Days
• If she is not able to make her selection within the
allotted appointment time, she is welcome to
schedule a return appointment.
• If a student arrives more than 15 minutes late for
her scheduled appointment, she will need to
schedule another appointment or can politely wait
in the waiting area for another cancellation or a
‘work-in’ opportunity if another shopper finishes
early.
• Those arriving within the 15-minute grace period,
will be allowed to shop, but will not be afforded
extra time as not to delay other’s appointments.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Shopping Days
• If any items a student shopper selects are in need of
dry cleaning or alteration, those services will be
provided by GSPP and the student shopper can
pick up her ready items at the counseling office of
their campus.
• If none of the items need to be cleaned or altered,
students will be allowed to take selections with
them at the conclusion of the shopping
appointment. Students are responsible for their care
while they are in their possession.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Shopping Days
• Any item which is damaged while in a student’s
possession will not be replaced and cannot be
returned to the Project and will limit or end that
student’s ability to again receive future GSPP
services.
• Due to lack of space and *privacy concerns, each
student shopper will be welcome to bring one adult
guest to GSPP. Adult guests will be asked to sit in
the waiting area and the student shopper will be
able to come out and model selections if she
chooses.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Volunteers
• This is what truly makes the Project successful.
• The GSPP welcomes adult female community
volunteers who are at least twenty-four years of
age to assist with the project. These guidelines
are in place to ensure the privacy and comfort of
the student shopper.
• Volunteers are recruited through several
channels:
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School district employees
Civic organizations and volunteer groups
Established volunteer referrals
Facebook
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Volunteers
School admin and community
volunteers
Husband volunteers!
UA PanHellenic volunteer
Church volunteer
Church volunteer
School district faculty
volunteer
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Volunteers
• Confidentiality – all volunteers will be asked to
respect the confidentiality of all student shoppers by:
• not discussing student identity or student
shopper’s family’s identity with others outside of
the Project or questioning the student about
siblings, homelife, etc. while shopping/interacting
• not discussing dress origin (if known, please do
not identify donation source of dress)
• not pointing out or discussing donations made by
themselves or someone they know (if known,
please do not identify donation source of any
items)
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Volunteers
Confidentiality – all volunteers will be asked to respect
the confidentiality of all student shoppers by:
• not discussing the fact that the student shopper
is receiving services through the GSPP with
others not associated with the Project.
• volunteers should feel free to share with the
others in the community about the generously
donated time one has given to the Project, share
about the experience in general, and share the
purpose of the Project, but are asked not to
specifically identify who was served or describe
the dress(es) in detail to those outside the Project.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Volunteers
Confidentiality – all volunteers will be asked to
respect the confidentiality of all student shoppers
by:
• not bringing cameras of photo/recording
equipment of any kind (incl phones). Photos
may be taken during the course of the Project by
Project directors, however, none will be taken of
student shopper faces or of specific (close-up)
dress inventory.
Guests - Due to lack of space and privacy concerns,
volunteers are asked not to bring any guests to GSPP
on shopping and/or Beauty Days.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Volunteers
Junior Volunteers - Two Junior Volunteer (JV)
positions are available (two for the morning shift
and two for the afternoon shift) on each shopping
day and Sparkle Saturday JVs will be scheduled as
needed. JVs are well-behaved, cheerful young
ladies, ages seven to ten, who are accompanied by
an adult volunteer. JVs will be responsible for tasks
such as stuffing gift bags, emptying trash cans,
bringing water to shoppers, getting garment bags
for dresses, straightening shoes and jewelry, and
being available to assist personal shoppers.
This is an excellent opportunity to expose young
ladies to service-oriented projects.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Volunteers
• Orientation – each volunteer will be asked to
participate in GSPP orientation prior to her shift.
Orientation will consist of meeting the director(s), a
brief overview of the project, purpose of the project,
tour of the facility, confidentiality review, Sparkle
Saturday guidelines and Q & A.
• Duties – Volunteers may be asked to serve as:
• organizers (clean, arrange, stock) shoes,
accessories, jewelry, etc.
• closet fairies (re-hang and straighten dresses on
racks, check for damage to dresses, place dresses
on correct size racks, etc).
• Cinderella – help with general cleaning duties
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Volunteers
• Food and drink – In order to preserve the property of
GSPP (dresses, flooring, fabrics, furniture, etc.)
volunteers and shoppers are asked to refrain from
bringing in outside food and beverages to the GSPP
room. To protect fabrics, student shoppers will not be
allowed to chew gum while in shopping or dressing
rooms. Water and boutique-appropriate snacks will
be provided for shoppers and volunteers by GSPP for
enjoyment in the boutique lobby, not in shopping
areas.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Volunteers
• Seamstresses – ARE NEEDED and we love them. 
The GSPP welcomes on-site seamstress volunteers for
each three-hour shift on shopping days. We will also
be happy to drop-off and pick-up dresses in need of
alteration to the home of the volunteer seamstresses.
Please contact project directors to volunteer for this
critical position.
• Volunteer hours –
• Volunteers will be asked to serve in full three-hour
shifts.
• Volunteers will be asked to check in for each shift 30
mins prior to the beginning of each shift (8:30 and 1:30)
• Volunteer shifts are from 9 – 12 and 2 – 5 on Boutique
Shopping Days.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Sparkle Saturday
• Sparkle Saturday is the actual day of prom.
It is a day of beauty and pampering for
the student clients.
• Students register for a Sparkle Saturday
appointment during their boutique
shopping day.
• Sparkle Saturday volunteers are
professional hair stylists, make-up artists
and nail technicians who are referred by
Project volunteers and through the
Project’s Facebook page.
Volunteer Stylists
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Sparkle Saturday
• Sparkle Saturday clients should be sure to be freshly
showered and shaved for Prom day.
• She should arrive at the Boutique salon with no makeup; clean, dry hair; nail/toe polish removed and
scrubbed and trimmed fingernails and toenails; and
with a shirt that buttons up and down completely so it
will not affect an updo when removed to put on a
dress.
• Sparkle clients should also consider bringing a photo
for the stylist to show her the type of hairstyle or
make-up look that is preferred.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Sparkle Saturday
•
Sparkle Saturday clients check in at the boutique
salon desk immediately upon arrival. Each
Sparkle client will need to plan to be at The Glass
Slipper Room 2 – 4 hours and properly arrange
for transportation. Each Sparkle client should
EAT BEFORE arrival.
• If a Sparkle client arrives more than 15 minutes
late for her scheduled appointment, she will be
considered a ‘work-in’ and can politely wait in the
boutique lobby for an opening.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Sparkle Saturday
• Sparkle Saturday guests – Due to lack of boutique
waiting room space, privacy concerns and use
of a variety of styling equipment, Sparkle
clients will not be allowed to bring a guest to
Sparkle Saturday.
• Clients are dropped off for their scheduled
appointments five minutes early.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Prom Tickets
•
Students served by GSPP will receive ONE free
prom ticket to attend the event. If a ticket is
lost, transferred, given away or stolen, GSPP
cannot issue replacements. Corsages,
boutonnieres, guest tickets, prom t-shirts, prom
photos, meals, and/or transportation are NOT
provided by FHS GSPP.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Returning Items
• FHS juniors who plan to participate in GSPP her
senior year are REQUIRED to return all boutique
items that were signed out to her (dress, shoes,
jewelry, handbag). FHS seniors are allowed to keep
all items if they so choose.
• If she chooses not to return any of her borrowed
items, she will not be invited to participate in GSSP
her senior year.
• If a student is referred to GSPP but does not choose
her dress, shoes, etc ., from the project, she is still
welcome to participate in Sparkle Saturday if she so
desires.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Development
• Grant-writing, donations, volunteers, building relationships with community
groups and communication are all essential to the development and
sustainability of the Project.
• Identifying and evaluating community resources who are a
proper fit with the Project is critical.
• Suggested organizations include:
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Junior Civic League
Junior League
Chamber of Commerce Leadership groups
University PanHellenic groups
Women’s groups such as ‘Womenade’
Pageant organizations
Beauty salons
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
• Communication
Development
is also a critical tool in developing and promoting a
successful Project.
• Facebook, Twitter, school district webpage and any social media is vital
to a prom project’s success.
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FHS Glass Slipper Prom Project Facebook Page
KNWA Morning News ‘Doing Good’ segment
• KNWA FHS GSPP
Arkansas Democrat Gazette feature
• AR Dem Gaz FHS GSPP
Mutual of Omaha ‘aha Moment’
University of Arkansas Traveler story
• AR Traveler FHS GSPP
University of Arkansas TV segment
• FPS blog
FHS Bulldog TV segment
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Development
• Donations, like volunteers, are critical.
• Communication and media are critical to solicit
donations from the community.
• Volunteer groups, such as university PanHellenic, and
local department and bridal stores are also amazing
resources for donated items.
• This year, the FHS Glass Slipper Prom Project will also
be asking senior girls not served by the Project to
donate their prom dresses as a gesture of goodwill and
to show their support for their peers. This also builds a
volunteer spirit in our students.
• Donations are accepted all year long.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Roles of Directors
• The FHS Glass Slipper Prom Project has a 2-tieered
director structure.
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The director manages Project budgeting and
finance
serves as the coordination liaison with the high
school
• Client identification
• Invitation delivery
• Appointment scheduling
• Drop-off and pick up of dresses
• Answering questions for student clients
before scheduled appointment
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Roles of Directors
• The FHS Glass Slipper Prom Project has a 2-tieered
director structure.
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The co-director manages communications and
media relations
Both
• collect and solicit donations
• participate in media interviews
• represent the Project at community events
• develop and maintain policy
• work on every shopping day and Sparkle
Saturday
• recruit, schedule, coordinate and train
volunteers
• maintain the facility and inventory
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Future Plans
• The FHS Glass Slipper Prom Project in the next five
years…
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To develop a signature fundraiser to sustain the
future of the program.
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To fully integrate male students into the service
aspect of the Project.
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To develop a Board of Directors to guide the
Project.
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Expansion beyond the bounds of our school
district.
The Glass Slipper Prom Project,
Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR
Questions??
•
We are happy to share ideas and
information to help you…
“Put the ‘Fair’ Back in the Fairytale…”
Marian Riner
marian.riner@fayar.net
Shay Hopper
shay.hopper@fayar.net