Cinderella's Closet offers Tucson high school students free prom dresses, shoes

Prom night — that increasingly pricey rite of passage for high school students — is about to become more affordable for teenage girls thanks to Melissa Tureaud and other volunteers with Cinderella’s Closet.

The nonprofit organization will partner with the Jewish Community Center and Goodwill of Southern Arizona to offer free prom dresses, shoes and accessories at the ninth annual Prom-O-Rama from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Jewish Community Center, 3800 E. River Road.

“This is literally a no-cost, one-stop shop for prom,” said Tureaud, 35, who founded Cinderella’s Closet with her sister, Jennifer Megaw, in 2009 after reading about a similar organization in a magazine. “School is so expensive with school clothes, supplies, sports and other activities, and prom is another big expense — even the tickets are very expensive.

“So why spend all that money on a dress that you will wear once? We are offering free dresses, shoes and accessories for high school girls.”

Tureaud, a Tucson native and self-confessed shopper, said she and Megaw love the concept of acting as “fairy godmothers” to make girls’ dreams of prom come true, all while providing “an environmentally-friendly way to recycle dresses.”

To date, the organization has gifted 2,500 new and gently used dresses to local teens; this year more than 1,200 dresses of different brands, colors and styles will be made available for free “shopping” on a first-come, first-served basis in a boutique-like venue.

“We have a huge variety. Some girls want super fancy dresses, long dresses, while others want something short and simple. We have some name-brand dresses — Calvin Klein and even Gabbana and lots of David’s Bridal — and some that are new with tags that girls bought and never wore. We get $1,500 dresses donated that were worn once. It blows my mind,” said Tureaud.

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Girls will also find a wide array of dress sizes, many of which were purchased with donated funds.

“There is nothing worse than a girl walking away without a dress because she didn’t find one that fit her. This year we have a great selection of plus sizes and I am really excited about that. Everyone of all sizes should be able to celebrate prom,” said Tureaud, who houses the inventory year-round in a large room at her office.

An insurance agent for State Farm for the past 10 years, she said when she recently moved offices, “one of the criteria was that we needed space for dresses.”

Overall, Tureaud believes that Cinderella’s Closet empowers teenage girls to make wonderful memories while promoting sustainability in our society.

“There are so many amazing organizations in Tucson working to support great causes, like hunger and homelessness, and sometimes I think, ‘Gosh, this is just prom.’ But this is one night that teenage girls get to feel beautiful and hang out with their friends in school,” she said.

“These days, society is so harsh, especially for women, and I feel like every girl should have that experience of dressing up in a fancy dress and feeling beautiful.”