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Home My WebLink AboutFairy godmothers help teens say yes to the prom dress - Ottawa Citizen - 05/12/2018 - Ottawa Citizen - 05/12/20185/14/2018 Fairy godmothers help teens say yes to the prom dress 1 Ottawa Citizen Fairy godmothers help teens say yes to the prom dress BLAIR CRAWFORD Moire from Bllaiiir Crawford (HTTP://OTTAWACITIZEN.COM/AUTHOR/BCRAWFORD10) Publiished on:: May 12, 2018 0 Last Updated:: May 13, 2018 4::45 IPM EDT „ 111111111111111111iiin I00000 I nII n111111111111111111111111111111111 ' 1 illininn" ,,,non"nnnnnnnnnin•Innn'n'!.nnnn,„.n.,,,,I,nn -•••••••••••••••- .....„„,,,,,.......................... •• ••••• —",•„„.„ 11111111111,"""017'"" ...,....n.."":"..n.",•,„,•Innnn,,,••••• •I•I•IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIInn• n ••"' • ,,,,n,„nnIn".,"n, •„...":"."""" .,, ., nnonn 0101111ln SflL nir "rrrr: 110 „„nrrinirnrir no11111.1.1.11.1ndr 111111111,10[ 11 'Ili FRASER / POSTMEDIA '1111 ilr r 17, ASHLEY "You just beam in that dress. It's perfect." http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/fairy-godmothers-help-teens-say-yes-to-the-prom-dress 1/7 5/14/2018 Fairy godmothers help teens say yes to the prom dress 1 Ottawa Citizen With those words of encouragement from fairy godmother Hope Ace, and after working her way through a rack of 20 gowns for an hour Saturday afternoon, 18 -year-old Sarah Doucet had made her choice for her May 20 prom. Jewel -toned and ruby red, the gown swirled when she twirled and framed the delicate bird tattoos that fly across Doucet's shoulders. Its silver beading perfectly complemented her silver -beaded heels. Doucet, a Grade 12 student at Beatrice-Desloges high school, was one of 80 students who registered for the 15th annual Fairy Godmother Ottawa's boutique. The volunteer organization pairs girls with a "fairy godmother" to help them choose a prom outfit from the nearly 1,500 gowns in its collection. The organization was founded by friends and former models Melissa Shabinsky and Catherine Whitla in 2002. "For us it's such a fun experience. We get to play dress -up with these young girls," Shabinsky said. "It's always a big moment when they come out of the change room and everyone goes, 'Wow! It's stunning.' " The gowns are all donated and are cleaned for free by Brown's Cleaners, which is owned by Whitla's parents. Brown's accepts donations at any of its two dozen locations across the region. The gowns are stored at the Confederation Education Centre on Woodroffe Avenue, which is where Saturday's boutique was held. Seventeen fairy godmothers were on hand to help with Saturday's fittings. "They're all women who love fashion, have a great sense of style and truly understand that what you wear really does have an impact on how you feel," Shabinsky said. "They want to share their expertise with young girls who really are just looking for a little guidance." ,E":1110 ,,,,// ,d FA /r /' / / I aEdi TIE /„/ P,I,,,: ICJ ,Ei,/ / 1 / 0 R S l/ "U,D S http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/fairy-godmothers-help-teens-say-yes-to-the-prom-dress 2/7 5/14/2018 Fairy godmothers help teens say yes to the prom dress 1 Ottawa Citizen (http://ottawacitizen.com/gallery/photos-fairy-godmother- provides-prom-dresses-for-deserving-students) L�Jr>>Jr et18, ht.lr1 rl'thehelp of I' IoIJe r, rO tttJ rhI rlugh the r., 01 go a n dr�iii,ar. ASHL Y A R/ OSTM IA Erica Impun u, o �St. �rancls avier High School, went home with a slim - fitting black velvet gown. She added a little bling to her wrist with a silver bracelet she chose from a table of accessories. "I think it's a great idea," Impundu said. "The thing is, I didn't want to buy a dress for $400 just for one day." Her fairy godmother, Leah Hare!, said she loves to see the girls leave happy. "They're so appreciative. We'II bend over backwards to help them. "Their prom is a milestone in their life. It only comes once a year, and if you miss it, you can't go back." http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/fairy-godmothers-help-teens-say-yes-to-the-prom-dress 3/7 5/14/2018 Fairy godmothers help teens say yes to the prom dress 1 Ottawa Citizen I11111111°'"'"'" 100000mool000m000nr-111 1011111111111111111111 0101010101 11000000101000 11111,11111,1,1,1,1,1,111111111111111111111 v,„,1,1,1 1001111111111111 1111111iill111111111l11l11lllllllllll'1 111' !ISI«�Ig111111111h 111111111 I IIIIIIIII11'111111111111, Vllllllm,;;. 111111111 ml00 1111111111111111111111111111111111111111100 1,11,11,11,1 1111,11,11,11,11,11,11,11,11,11,11,11,111111111111,111,1111 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 00.00,0 L000 000000 mo nom00000l d 000000000 .001001011100000 000„0„: huu 400,111,1111111 °�IYllyl��w �... I 1,7 1, , (;' � III Ir 1 7 1 POSTMEDIA iP gg � I1 ppprytl�« l�ti�l.;I f�4ti11tltillll �tlA lIIIIIIIIIIII • li BLAIR CRAWFORD / --liunwi�l °000000000000000001 Though the gowns are all donated, Whitla and Shabinsky say that doesn't mean they are low quality or out of style. Far from it. In fact, dresses that are too worn or too old won't make the cut. Some extra dresses are shared with other similar gown programs at individual schools in Ottawa and Gatineau. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/fairy-godmothers-help-teens-say-yes-to-the-prom-dress 4/7 5/14/2018 Fairy godmothers help teens say yes to the prom dress 1 Ottawa Citizen "The main goal for us is to dress the girls so that they don't stand out as if they were dressed by Fairy Godmother," Shabinsky said. "If it's not something your daughter would wear, we suggest you find someplace else to take it." Not all the young women who come to the boutique are there because they can't afford a prom dress, said Wendy Morrell of the women's group Beta Sigma Phi, which recruits the volunteer fairy godmothers. Some have body image issues and are too intimidated to go into a gown shop. Some have lost their mothers and have no one to help them shop. Morrell remembers one girl who had never been taken dress shopping in her life, even though her family was wealthy. "I said, 'OK. Today is going to be your day. You're going to try them on for us,' " Morrell said. "People sometimes ask me, 'How do you know they really need help?' and I say, `If they're here, they must be here for a reason.' "For some, just being told, 'You look gorgeous,' is the reason they're here." bcrawford@postmedia.com (mailto:bcrawford@postmedia.com) Twitter.com/getBAC HIGH SCHOOL (HTTP://OTTAWACITIZEN.COM/TAG/HIGH-SCHOOL) PROM (HTTP://OTTAWACITIZEN.COM/TAG/PROM) TRENDING STORIES 0 Ten ridings to wat heads for its sprir Ontario has 124 provincial ridings as it goes into a... http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/fairy-godmothers-help-teens-say-yes-to-the-prom-dress 5/7 5/14/2018 Fairy godmothers help teens say yes to the prom dress 1 Ottawa Citizen This Week's Flyers 11111111111111111111111111111111111111N811111101111111111111111111111111111111111N8111111011111111111111111111111111111 Imm 1111111111111111111111111111 St QRT 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 JYs < Previous JYSK 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 Scandinavian Sleeping & Living YE In' ANADA F--loveir ir If::'Illyei Comments 111,1v 111111,11 , F--loveir for IFF'Illyeir F--loveir -for I11 Iyer SAVE 226 15 - SA, 144411)04:4 SAVE 223 We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page (http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/story.html?id=7195492) for more information. 0 Comments Add a comment... Faceboolk Comments IPllugin Sort by Newest http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/fairy-godmothers-help-teens-say-yes-to-the-prom-dress 6/7 5/14/2018 Fairy godmothers help teens say yes to the prom dress 1 Ottawa Citizen 'I)...)„, 365 E.?,1ofor St East -Toronto, C)h,,,I 1\114'1V3L„.1. www, post riled, „',,a ,corn 2018 rpostrilf(:.. F,l,e.tv,iorl< I nr,,,,,';, All Hghts reserved, 1„...). t... 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