By Bonnie Adams, Managing Editor
Shrewsbury – Madeline Dolan is currently a junior at Shrewsbury High School. Thanks to a project she started several years ago, One Enchanted Evening, she can also put the title “fairy godmother” on her resume as well. And thanks to her, hundreds of local girls, who couldn’t afford a new prom dress, have been given a beautiful new or slightly used formal dress, at absolutely no cost.
The idea for One Enchanted Evening started three years ago when Madeline, then a freshman, was talking to her mother, Rebecca, who owns Oh So Chic Designs in Northborough.
“I, like so many girls, love dresses and when I talked to my mom about prom and how excited I was to go one day, she told me that not every girl would have the opportunity because dresses can be expensive,” Madeline recalled. “So, I decided that the cost of a dress shouldn’t keep someone from going to prom. I contacted local dress shops and spread the word throughout the communities by contacting local papers, sending flyers to all of the schools in the area and asking the Shrewsbury schools to promote my project throughout the town.”
The response was overwhelming, she said. Since she started the project, she has collected hundreds of gowns and helped dozens of girls achieve their dream of looking beautiful for their special event.
One Enchanted Evening is open to girls throughout central Massachusetts. All a girl needs to do is fill out an application by Sunday, April 5 at www.oneenchantedeveningproject.com. Madeline will then assign her a time slot for a private personal fitting to be held Saturday, April 11.
“The application allows me to know what size dress they need, so if I don’t have it, I can see if I can find one,” she noted. “Everything is confidential and really special for each girl.”
Currently she has both short and long dresses in sizes 0 to 18, both new and gently used, in stock. This year’s collection is slated to end by Saturday, March 21, but if one has a long dress, size 0-6, they would like to donate, it will still be accepted after that date due to the need for those particular sizes. Donations should be dropped off during business hours at The Manor (42 W. Boylston St., West Boylston) which has graciously served as a collection site for this year’s drive.
For more information, visit www.oneenchantedeveningproject.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/oneenchantedeveningproject or contact [email protected] or [email protected] or 617-387-1702.