The Princess Project ended on March 9, collecting new or slightly used Prom dresses and accessories to donate to girls around the Bay Area who otherwise could not afford these pricey items. Ever since this program was started eight years ago by two graduates from Saratoga High, SHS has implemented this program every spring.

Alumni Laney Whitcanack and Kristi Smith Knutson, who both graduated in 1991, founded the Princess Program in 2002 after one girl told them that she could not afford a prom dress. They sent out an e-mail asking for used prom dresses for this girl, and after receiving an overwhelming number of donations, they established a non-profit organization to help less fortunate girls around the Silicon Valley. The organization has since expanded to San Francisco, East Bay and San Diego.

In total, the leadership class collected approximately thirty dresses.

“After the positive responses we received last year, we decided to do the drive again this year,” said senior Rebecca Amato, head of the leadership class. “It is great that this program exists.”
Since many students own dresses that they will only wear once in their lives, these donations attribute to much of the success of the program.

“I think the Princess Project is great because it provides girls who have an extra dress or one that no longer fits the opportunity to give it to a girl for Prom,” said Amato. “The second girl then gets the opportunity to wear a lovely dress to prom that she may otherwise not have been able to afford.”