Catherine's Closet wants to encourage entrepreneurship among young ladies so that they will blossom into successful business women. We are nuturing these leadership skills by allowing YOU to take charge of Gown Distribution 2006.

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HOST A TEA PARTY!
(or any kind of party you want)

Get a group of your friends, classmates, etc together to tell them about Catherine's Closet. (Freshman, Sophmores, Juniors and Seniors)

Be Different
We all loved tea parties with our dolls as girls who said we had to grow out of that?

Throw some cookies in the oven, bake some cakes, etc and call up your closest girlfriends for a tea!
Don't have a sweet tooth - break out the soda and order a pizza!

The purpose of the tea party is to explain to your girlfriends the benefits of participating in Catherine's Closet while raising funds to purchase dresses for the gown distribution.

Visit The Tea House Times for a "how-to-guide" for your tea!

Does it make sense to spend hundreds of dollars on prom, when you've got graduation and all those senior events and parties to think about?

The phrase "Broke College Student" was coined for a reason so save your money now! Look for girls, just like you, who'd rather shop smart by earning their prom dress promoting and helping out Catherine's Closet.

At the Tea Party, Pizza Party, Bowling Party… Lunchtime in the Cafeteria, Afterschool, FOR 1 ONLY HOUR OUT OF YOUR DAY, whenever you can brainstorm ways to do the following:

1. Let the rest of your classmates know about Catherine's Closet, its history and purpose
2. Let the community know how they can get involved
3. Reach out to recent graduates, and local businesses, asking them to donate their dresses, handbags, and accessories
4. Raise money for Catherine's Closet (via bake sales, arts and crafts sales, talent shows, fashion shows, etc)
5. Gather a list of girls interested in obtaining a dress and/ or volunteering on gown distribution day

Click here to see how other young ladies took action!

• Remember participating in Catherine's Closet looks Great on your College applications!
• Any High school Senior with a valid ID can receive a dress during gown Distribution
• High school Juniors can start earning their service hours NOW!
• 18 hours of service gets your prom gown!
• 10 hours of service also =
  2 donated dresses OR
  2 donated handbags OR
  1 donated dress and one handbag
• 5 hours of service = 1 donated garment rack
• High school graduates can earn college credits (contact your school advisor) by Interning with Catherine's Closet. Those interested in participating should contact Sandy- sandy@catherinescloset.org for details and have any necessary paperwork ready from your attending institution.
  Its not too late for the upcoming Spring 2006 semester!
• Those who have not earned service hours with Catherine's Closet, who will have a sponsor, or simply wish to pay for their prom attire should note the following:
  1. Dress = $18 or 18 documented service hours
  2. Shoes = $3 or 3 documented service hours
  3. Handbag = $3 or 3 documented service hours
• You qualify to apply for a Catherine's Closet Scholarship with 60-100 service hours. Participation in the creation/ execution of a fundraising event MUST be included in the hours to be considered.

Check out what other schools have done…

Have a "Can-shake" to solicit funds

It's cold out now… but why not a Car Wash?

Bake and sell holidy cookies, cakes, and pastries to collect money

Are you the next Romare Bearden, or Gordon Parks? Paint or take photos and sell your creations to generate cash for Catherines Closet

Think your rhymes can compete with the likes of Maya Angelou or Lord Byron, host an "Open Mic Night" and charge admission to attendees.

Gift wrap holiday presents for a nominal fee (per gift) - Include homemade holiday greeting cards for sale as a bonus option

Recycle old clothes into handbags for sale (Newark students raised $1500 at a holiday sale)

Custom design or redesign dresses to donate to CC

Solicit funds from your community and explain CC (Emerson High School raised $600 by explaining the mission of CC then purchased designer prom wear at discount prices)

Selling flowers at Valentine's Day (Linden High School)

Bring Mother's, aunts, friends when  you select your gown to purchase "MOTHER Dresses"

Speak at a tea outside your school (One student from Westside H.S. Newark and another from Jonathan Dayton H.S. were spokeswomen at our Tricky Tray Fundraiser)

Sell hot chocolate, teas, coffee, bake goods in  pretty inexpensive tins (A scholarship winner from Arts High School, Newark raffled off a cake for hot 97 radio prizes)

Publicity: write articles for local newspapers, for radio, tv media, etc (A student from Linden H. S. got CC and herself on the Hispanic News Channel)

Answer website inquiries! (2 scholarship winners answered all questions about the project. They attended University High School and Hillsborough High School)

Write grants-get other people to write grants!