Mirror photo by Cati Keith / Emily Burwell of Hollidaysburg, a volunteer with the Glass Slipper Project, helps with hanging up dresses at the former Ooh La La store in the Logan Valley Mall.

With prom season around the corner, the United Way of Blair County and the Logan Valley Mall have teamed up to make the festivities more affordable for girls and their families.

Located in the former Ooh La La store at the mall, the Glass Slipper Project aims to make sure girls who want to attend their prom or spring formal can do so, without breaking their family’s budget.

The Glass Slipper Project was founded in Blair County in 2011 because prom dresses can run into the hundreds of dollars, which makes attending the event out of financial reach for many youth, especially when adding in shoes, jewelry and other accouterments.

Through community donations of new or gently worn dresses and accessories, it’s hoped that any girl who wants to attend their formal dance can do so, organizers said.

Betsy Dreibelbis, director of development for United Way, said the project gives back as the money families would have spent on a gown can go toward other expenses.

The project hinges on the generosity and kindness of strangers who donate dresses suitable for proms and other spring formal events. In addition, the project accepts donations of shoes, purses, jewelry and other accessories, so that girls and their families can shop for the perfect outfit. Cash donations are also welcome and allow the project to purchase items that are needed but weren’t donated.

It’s asked that the dresses be clean and formal, in modern styles and in sizes from 0 to 30. Shoes and accessories should also be clean and new or gently worn.

Donations are accepted at any time and stored until volunteers get them ready for display in the Logan Valley Mall, where space is donated by the mall operator.

Donations should be dropped off at the United Way of Blair County office in Duncansville not at the mall. The office is at 208 Hollidaysburg Plaza, Duncansville.

“We recognize how important prom can be for so many girls, and we want to do everything we can to make it happen and make it special for them,” said Nikolas Oliver, administrative assistant of the Logan Valley Mall.

This year, the Glass Slipper Project will be open in the former Ooh La La store across from the food court. Mall retailers Old Navy and Macy’s donated clothes racks so volunteers can hang the dresses for display.

The gowns will be distributed at no cost on a first-come, first-serve basis. The hours are limited.

The opening is set for Friday, Feb. 24, and volunteers will serve as personal shoppers to help girls get signed in, with the fitting rooms and with finding the right size.

Altoona resident Rona Bohner has been a volunteer for two years and said it is always a good time.

As a volunteer, she helps with cleaning the room, getting the racks set up, hanging up the dresses, putting up the signs for the sizes, and displaying the shoes, purses and accessories.

“I love the show ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ and I love looking at dresses,” Bohner said.

“It is so rewarding to see the girls get their dresses and hear the different stories of what is going on in their lives,” Bohner said.

She’s seen firsthand how the project has helped mothers and grandmothers get the dresses their daughters and granddaughters need.

One mother was moved to tears after she found dresses for her two daughters going to junior and senior prom in the same year, Bohner said.

“She was just so happy. … We all started crying, too,” she said.

For many families, not having to worry about the cost of the dress means they can put the money they saved toward a salon visit for hair and makeup the day of the event.

“This is my first year volunteering for it, but I heard from others in years past that there is always a line at the door of girls waiting to look at dresses,” said Imani Vaughn, an Americorps member of United Way.

Some of the young women are ecstatic to find a dress and say they feel like princesses, organizers said.

They “stay in their dress for a whole hour because they were so happy to find it and didn’t want to take it off,” Dreibelbis said.

The Glass Slipper Project serves between 200 to 300 girls each year, Dreibelbis said.

So far, a wide variety of dresses in lengths from short to long are available, with some of the shorter styles of dresses being good for graduation, spring or summer concerts or other occasions.

The Glass Slipper Project boutique at the mall is open to everyone, regardless of income or county of residence. Hours are from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24; noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25; 3:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 17; and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 18.

An April date has been added this year — from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 22 — for students who got asked to prom late or who might decide at the last minute to attend, Dreibelbis said.