Prom season is rapidly approaching, which can cause students and parents alike to grimace.

The annual spring ritual shortly before high school seniors graduate can be a hit to the wallet. Formal wear, whether it’s a tux or dress, plus shoes, accessories, hair products, tickets, dinner and transportation to the dance adds up quickly.

Amy Hardebeck, chair of the Kent Area Council PTA’s Cinderella Project committee, discovered an alternative in the fall when her daughter, who is a freshman at Kentridge High, decided to go to homecoming.

Hardebeck saw a flier for the Cinderella Project in the school newsletter. She knew she didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars so they went to the Kent Phoenix Academy to see what was offered.

Hardebeck, who is the director of Lake Wilderness Arboretum, said she was impressed with the collection. Students who attend high school in the Kent School District, regardless of income level, can borrow a dress from the project to wear to a school dance.

“We were overwhelmed by the quantity and the quality of (dresses), some of them with tags still on them,” Hardebeck said. “There were dresses which had never been worn. My daughter borrowed a dress for homecoming. Everyone told her how beautiful it was.”

Dresses are donated and sometimes purchased at a steep discount when stores are clearing them. Tuxedoes are also available for boys.

More than a year ago Hardebeck discovered how expensive homecoming can be when her son, who was a senior and part of the homecoming court at Kentridge, attended the dance. She spent hundreds of dollars on the experience for him, she said.

In any case, when she and her daughter returned the dress, Hardebeck discovered the chair of the project was stepping down. So Hardebeck volunteered to take over.

“I was just so touched by the fact the Kent School District was doing this project that I just couldn’t say no,” she said. “I was so impressed, I knew I had to take over the position and I knew I had to make more kids aware of it.”

Since taking over in January, Hardebeck said, she’s gone through the dresses to take care of any which may need to be cleaned or repaired — one volunteer is a seamstress who is taking care of fixing dresses.

Kentwood High’s Fashion Club used 40 of the Cinderella Project’s dresses for its Feb. 28 fashion show which raised money for Seattle Children’s Hospital. It was an opportunity to support the fundraiser, Hardebeck said, but it also was a chance to let students know they have this as an option.

Dresses range in size from zero to 3X. There are brand new nylons, bins of them, Hardebeck said, as well as unopened makeup samples, hair accessories and much more. There’s 30 tuxedoes for boys as well as a limited selection of shoes.

“There’s everything from the poofy Cinderella dresses all the way to the modern sleek dresses,” Hardebeck said. “You name it. Anything they need for prom is there. And there’s zero cost. They don’t pay for everything. All you need is a Kent School District ID.”

For a budget conscious family, this could save hundreds of dollars or even allow a teen to go to a dance because of the cost savings.

And for boys who don’t want to go there to get a tux, Hardebeck added, the project committee arranges with a few local shops for discounts on formal attire to ensure there is opportunity for the guys.

There are seven dates the Cinderella Project collection is available for perusal. With the first prom set for May 24, students can go to the Kent Phoenix Academy to go through and try on the dresses starting May 9. Hardebeck said there are more than 200 dresses to check out. If a student can’t make it to one of the scheduled dates to check out the formal wear, Hardebeck can set up an appointment and meet a teen at the school to show them around.

Hardebeck hopes to bring in more students because only a handful of teens took advantage in the fall out of the thousands who attend one of the Kent School District high schools.

Students who are under 18 will need to get a parent or guardian to fill out a form when checking out a dress or tux. The formal wear borrowed from the Cinderella Project must be returned two weeks after the dance.

In mid-April Hardebeck will put up posters at schools. Information will go out in school newsletters, too. She wants to make sure anyone who wants to go to prom can do so without spending a fortune.

“It’s such a fabulous program and it’s so heartwarming to me and I just want more kids to know about it,” she said.

Reach Assistant Editor Kris Hill at khill@covingtonreporter.com or 425-432-1209 ext. 5054.