Meet your Prom Fairy Godmother!
Meet your Prom Fairy Godmother!
By Anna Dickinson
Embedded Files
Kerry Culberson and 4 others have been changing grads lives from Nackawic to Perth-Andover for over 7 years. Cinderella’s Closet is a nonprofit organization that originated when Kerry Culberson, Laurie Anderson, Sabrina Monteith, Julie Calhoun, and Tanya Cloutier came together to provide free prom attire for grads in need.
Culberson explained that “Cinderella’s Closet was almost by accident.” She had come across a post on Facebook about someone needing something grad related, photos or makeup and people were commenting that they could provide makeup, another mentioned photography.
Culberson had been fortunate enough to attend a lot of formal events, so she had a lot of formal gowns. So, she put it out there that if anyone needed a gown, she had some. Cinderella's Closet “began from those posts when we realized it was a need” Culberson stated. Culberson knew prom was very expensive and she realized there were many grads not going, or not feeling like they were dressed the same because of it being very costly. “It started when the 5 of us got together and started researching programs around Canada and the United States that donated prom dresses and we said let’s do it “The organization is completely non-profit by taking donations from the public of gowns, jewelry, shoes, and donations.
These donations go towards individuals looking for tuxes. They don’t take tux donations as they are hard to size and require a lot of alterations. Cinderella's Closet does ask that grads go thorough the guidance councillor when requesting a dress or tux. Culberson explained that “there can be a lot of different reasons why people do come to us, but our policy is that we don’t want it to be abused; it’s not a dress shop. It’s for those in need.” They also prefer that grads return the dresses after prom, they don’t mandate it, but it helps keep their inventory up. The organization has been nothing, but a success Culberson remarked that “no one has ever left without a tuxedo or a gown.”
Cinderella’s closet was formerly located in the basement of the Exit Reality building free of charge. However, when it sold, they were forced to find an alternative location. Luckily, Mike Martin, a local businessman decided to go around to local businesses and fundraise for them. He was able to raise enough money for them to be able to move into the food bank building located on165 Houlton Street, Woodstock, NB.
Cinderella’s Closet is able to be there free of charge, but they had to pay for all their renovations. Culberson happily explained that “he fundraised enough for us that we were able to pay for renovations and we are now moved into our permanent home!”
Cinderella’s Closet does a “boutique weekend” every year, where they try and do all their appointments throughout that weekend. This typically happens sometime in April. So, if you are a grad interested in Cinderella’s Closet make sure you reach out ASAP. Culberson shared that “now they’re set up to easily fit people in... we try and get it all done in one go as we all take time off work to make this happen.”
An anonymous grad from year 2020 that went through Cinderella’s closet shared that they were extremely excited when they found out this organization was an option. “I was worried about how my family could pay for the expenses of prom but when the ladies from Cinderella’s Closet came and talked at my school, I was relieved. I didn’t have to worry about wearing a dress I didn’t really love or spending money my family doesn’t have on an expensive dress.”
Culberson mentioned that “she’s very happy with how it’s turned out and it warms her heart that they get to help around 30 grads a year have a wonderful prom experience.” Cinderella’s closet is and will be a huge success for many years to come! It’s a heartwarming organization that brings the community together especially when we see those in need.
Photo of Kerry Culberson from her Exit Realty profile.
Meduxnekeag Consolidated School’s Backpack Program
By: Savanna Clark
The backpack program is an exceptional program that provides less fortunate students with food for their families for the weekend. This program has been going on for around 6 years and this program provides for approximately 26 families.
During my interview with Meduxnekeag Consolidated School’s vice principal Angela Stephenson, she told me about how she got the idea to start up this program.
Angela stated, “We had heard that this program was happening in a few schools upriver; it was a local church that does it”. After learning this Angela travelled to these schools and the church to gain more information about this program and how they ran it. After this visit she was fully convinced she wanted to bring this program to her school. It wasn’t easy for Angela to start this up due to the fact she “didn’t have a local church that was willing or that we wanted to approach to do it. We decided to do it in-house.”
This program came to life with lots of fundraising, local businesses willing to donate and grants. They also have connections with local trucking companies that give donations when they have refused loads which is extremely helpful. This program is most definitely a big expense, but it is definitely worth it since you are providing so many families with food they wouldn’t have without this program. Doing this program costs around $1000 weekly, so the school is beyond grateful to the local businesses that support this program.
The process of deciding the families that receive backpacks is quite simple. There are families that are on an annual plan for this program and some families simply reach out asking for help from the school. In the case where a new student comes to the school Stephenson explained that “teachers if they get new students that they identify a need for I have a letter that I send home to parents explaining the process or explaining the backpack”. I personally believe this is a very professional way to go about doing this since it keeps everything anonymous which is the main goal of this program. All Angela needs is parental consent to add the family to the list and then they begin sending the child home with their weekly backpack. When the student receiving the backpack moves up to the high school Stephenson identifies the student as a child in need of help and the high school does what they can to help provide for that child. Although, if the older student has a younger sibling Angela continues to send a backpack home every weekend with the younger sibling.
Towards the end of the week is when the backpack committee packs the bags. The committee includes Angela, available supply teachers and in some instances retired teachers. To ensure that the students remain anonymous Angela explains that “On Fridays the students receive the backpacks and they're just like a normal backpack. There is no names on them, no numbers or anything and they go down to their classes at the end of the day and take it home.” On Mondays the students simply walk by the office and quickly and discreetly return the backpacks.
When it comes to what goes inside the backpack it revolves around the planned weekly menu. A past principal of Meduxnekeag Consolidated School is the person who does the grocery shopping and also prepares the weekly menu for the backpacks. Typically, the food that goes in the backpack is food that is easily prepared that the students can mostly make for themselves. Every week they pack a main meal and snacks for the families. Some examples of what goes in the backpacks are cereal, spaghetti and spaghetti sauce, fruit cups, granola bars, soup, canned meat, oatmeal, pastas and more.
Although this program is extremely successful and helps so many families, it can surely take a toll on the people who pack the backpacks. Angela expresses that “At first it was pretty overwhelming just because we have about 26 or 27 families”. I believe this program is very eye opening because most people don’t realize just how many families need support and it is hard to wrap your head around. Angela also says, “Especially the younger students, their faces just light up on Fridays when they get their backpacks and it's pretty moving in itself, and it feels good to be able to do that for families”.
While at Meduxnekeag Consolidated School I was able to interview a little girl in grade two that receives a backpack every Friday. This little girl almost brought tears to my eyes when talking about how happy and grateful she is for receiving the backpack. When asked how the backpack has affected her life, she replied with “It helps my family a lot because we don't have that much money.” This response truly made me realize just how impactful this program truly is. This little girl is a prime example of how something so simple can change your life and simply make you a happier person. She is filled with so much joy when receiving the backpacks every Friday and seeing her reaction to getting her backpack along with all the other students who receive a backpack makes it a whole lot easier to continue this program.
After this interview I believe that this program should make its way to many more schools because you never know what families are going through and a program as simple as this can change a whole family's perspective on life.
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