Some of the most exciting times of students’ high school lives are the school dances. Most high schools have their traditional homecomings and proms. Others even have a winter ball in the middle of the school year. It’s a time for students to look good and feel good, but the prices for school dances are extreme.

According to Terrycosta.com “The average cost of prom ranges from $150 on the low end to $2,000+ for a fully planned experience. Girls often spend slightly more than guys due to dresses, alterations, hair, makeup, and accessories.”

Many students who can attend these events cannot afford to spend $150, let alone $2,000 for the one-night experience. Communities around the country try to help students alleviate the cost, and Buena Vista University is one of them.   

Located on the Buena Vista campus is the Glass Slipper Shop. A store for people of all ages to buy formal dresses and shoes at low prices. All the items are donated, and the money made from the shop is used to help fund Buford’s Friendly Market. Every dress seen in the store is $10, while every pair of shoes is $5.

The shop is open on 10 select dates across three months for people to visit the store and have the prom dress shopping experience. The students of BV volunteer at the shop by selecting different slots and dates. 

Brenna Anderson, a sophomore graphic design major, has been volunteering with the shop for two years and has grown to love the experience of volunteering at the shop, and has connected with it personally. “I like seeing the girls wanting to find the right dress for prom because I never got to go out shopping for prom, so I love helping others,” Anderson said. 

Sami Kay, the director of community and student engagement, is the key to keeping the shop alive. Kay also has a deep connection to the store. 

“As a student who also grew up with a single mother of three, all the prom dresses I borrowed from upperclassmen. … so, it’s providing the experience of coming in shopping, but also still getting a beautiful formal dress.” 

One of the biggest goals of the shop is to help create personal experiences for the girls who come to shop at the location and help the community.

“It gives those young ladies out there in the community who might not have the resources to have that mem

orable prom experience, just like their other peers. And this gives them that opportunity,” Kay said, trying to create an environment for all to have that experience with the help of students like Anderson.

All the students at the shop have the passion to help create a one-on-one experience as Anderson breaks down the steps, starting with opening the shop for the day, helping guests as they enter, and feeling the fun of it all as they are finishing up their day and closing the shop. 

Each year, as the shop grows increasingly successful, it requires more help from the students at Buena Vista, “If they [students] have dresses or shoes, things like that that they would like to donate, … we can handle them and just donate the time. I must have students run it to create that experience,” Kay said as she wants to see the shop grow in success and be able to do more in the future.  

As the shop is halfway through its three-month run, they have sold more than 50 dresses and are hoping to sell more. Kay invites people who are interested in the Glass Slipper shop to come have fun and try on dresses, then the next day, volunteer. With the help of other students and getting more volunteers, they hope to sell more dresses and create a fun environment for everyone.