Crawley charity makes students’ prom dreams come true

Operation Cinderella was formed by Lashed by Lou Beauty Salon owner Lousie Smith and the charity aims to “help less fortunate families that can't afford to pay for their teen to go to prom”, Louise said.

In addition to providing dresses and suites, the charity will also offer accessories and sports cars to drive. Also beauty and hair treatments, all free of charge.

A school prom occurs at the end of Year 11 and is a chance for students to celebrate the completion of their GCSEs, but also the end of compulsory education. Each prom is different depending on the school, but students usually wear ballgowns and suits for the occasion. The tradition is popular in America and has been adopted by schools in the UK.

Louise said: “I got the inspiration to set up Operation Cinderella by walking past Crawley Free Shop and spoke to a member of staff who said could I help them with their beauty service as I am a trained beautician. I agreed and got some of my friends involved. After a discussion with my friends, I suggested that we do the whole thing.

“This would involve providing the dresses and accessories as there are a lot of students in Crawley that can’t afford to go to their proms. We have seen a high demand for our services. You get a lot of people who are embarrassed.

“I have gone to all the secondary schools in Crawley and they have been getting in contact with families who they think will benefit from the service. I have loads of dresses at my home at the moment but also storing them at a friend’s house as well. Also suits for the boys as well.

“ We don’t just want to just do it for this year’s prom but we want to carry it on every year. It is lovely to see everyone in the community being positive about it. People can help by spreading the word about our service.

“There are lots of boys and girls out there who would love to go but just can not afford it. Our motto is ‘dreams cost nothing’.”

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You can get in contact with Louise by emailing her at: [email protected]