Real life fairy godmothers work to make sure low-income girls have prom dresses

Related: Tim Tebow Foundation sponsors prom for special needs people

Prom season is in full swing. Many students will sit out the fun evening because they don’t have money for an outfit.

That’s where Proyecto Hada Madrina and the Fairy Godmother Project come in.

Carliana Harris and Yanitza Eguigure founded the organization after a simple social media post asking for donations turned into overwhelming support.

“So far, we have about 70 and we’re still getting more dresses,” said Harris, who added that she knows exactly how it feels to not have money for a prom dress. “It was hard for my mom to buy me a prom dress. We did struggle for a little bit and my dress came from a thrift store."

Eguigure, who works at a local high school, said she knows how stressful this time of year is for some students.

Last year, she helped two girls by giving them dresses for prom.

“They were crying because they didn’t have the money to go to the prom,” Eguigure said.

“We thought that we were going to have more girls than dresses. I didn’t expect this many dresses in reality,” Eguigure said.

Every girl who qualifies will get a free dress Sunday.

“The main thing is the dress, because without the dress you don’t have a party,” Eguigure said.

Local beauty salons and makeup artists heard about the cause and decided to pitch in.

They’ve donated gift certificates to be raffled off as well.

“You have to fill out an application, you have to submit your grades and you have to submit your parents’ last pay stub in order to be considered,” Harris said.

These fairy godmothers don't have magic wands because what they do has nothing to do with magic.

It comes from the heart.

“That’s all you have when you leave high school, your memories,” Eguigure said.

On Sunday, the organization will also raffle what they’re calling a “Rockstar” package.

“One of the lucky winners who is chosen is going to get a videographer come out and videotape their whole prom,” Harris said.

That winner will also get the chance to be on the cover of Que Tal Jacksonville magazine.

If you would like to donate a dress or know of a deserving student who could benefit, visit the Facebook page at "Proyecto Hada Madrina" or contact Carliana Harris at 904-993-3183.

Cox Media Group