If Cinderella is allowed to dress up for one night and have a fairy godmother to grant her wishes, then why can’t Chicago-area high school girls?

The Fashion Industries Organization is supporting the Glass Slipper Project Dress Collection, which provides previously owned formal apparel and accessories to Chicago-area high school girls who cannot afford the price of new prom wear.

According to the Web site, www.glassslipperproject.org, the project offers new and almost-new formal dresses and accessories free of charge to Chicago-area students who are unable to purchase them. To date, the project has supplied 2,300 young women dresses to attend their prom when they didn’t think they could.

Each student is matched up with a volunteer personal shopper that helps them to create the prom night of their dreams.

“Our goal is to have a minimum of 200 dresses collected by March 21,” said Melissa Karrson, FIO’s president and a senior textiles, apparel and merchandising major. “If every girl in a sorority donated one dress, in addition to all of the other donations, we will have well exceeded our goal.”

This year, FIO is collecting both the week before and the week after spring break. Donations can be brought from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to Gilbert Hall Room 157, with the exception of noon to 1 p.m.

Acceptable donations include: dresses of all sizes that are in current styles and are only gently used, formal shoes, accessories, such as jewelry, hair accessories and purses, unopened cosmetics and hosiery, as well as monetary donations. Checks should be made to the Glass Slipper Project.

“It is important to remember that even if you don’t have a dress to donate, you can still contribute to the cause,” said Karrson. “The Glass Slipper Project will gladly accept dress shoes, jewelry and purses.”

Alison Hackes, FIO’s publicity chair and sophomore marketing and textiles, apparel and merchandising major, said that this is the first year FIO is sponsoring this collection alone.

“Last year was the first year we sponsored it along with Textiles and Apparel,” said Hackes. “I hope that girls on campus think about their prom and what it meant to them in high school and try to help give that experience to girls less fortunate.”

For information, e-mail [email protected].