Ronda’s Closet Hosts “Princess Project” Benefit

On December 12^th the local Carmel Valley boutique, Ronda’s Closet,  hosted a great event called The Princess Project. Every year, The Princess Project seeks and receives thousands of beautiful new or nearly new dresses and accessories in nearly perfect condition from individual donors and corporate partners. Hundreds of volunteers accept and organize these dresses and accessories to run an exciting giveaway event in the early spring for individual high school girls. Groups of 10 or more teens who want to attend can make an appointment for a private boutique.

Each year, thousands of teens from San Diego, San Francisco and Silicon Valley attend the dress giveaways to find that new prom dress and those perfect accessories to make their high school prom a reality, and it’s all free. In addition to helping high school teens attend their prom with style and confidence, The Princess Project is driven by seven core values. To celebrate bodies of all sizes and avoid using body imagery in their marketing and outreach. Body-oriented graphics and artwork—like torso silhouettes, dress outlines or generic, stock prom photos—inadvertently convey an idealized body size, style and look. By instead using images of the teens they serve and royalty-related imagery like tiaras and crowns, they celebrate the beauty and diversity of teens everywhere, in every size. To value the importance of recycling and of using the earth’s resources wisely. They seek to show their respect for this recycling process by treating each clothing and/or accessory donation as valued and important. To trust that teens who are in financial need of garments or accessories will attend The Princess Project events, and they will welcome them without question. They in turn will foster the important trust of their donors, who give to The Princess Project with the intent that teens in need will benefit. To strive to offer meaningful volunteer leadership opportunities for women, and seek to provide a venue for volunteers to grow personally and professionally. They  seek to make The Princess Project planning process rewarding, educational, and fun for their volunteers. To  strive to include representatives of teens that they serve in their decision-making processes.

To  strive to create a respectful, fun atmosphere for the teens they serve at the Dress Giveaway events. To strive to include the diversity of people represented in their communities and their volunteer corps.

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Name: Santiago Benito

School: Canyon Crest Academy

Dream: Santiago hopes to one day become a documentary film director and producer.  He also hopes to write and make Hollywood films.

Interests:  He enjoys reading almost as much as he enjoys writing; my favorite book is The Life of Pi by Yann Martel.  Santiago have had an interest in the art of cinema ever since he could remember.  From an early age, Santiago has been mesmerized by the beauty of the lines said and the actors on the big screen.  While many kids have a hard time trying to figure out what they want to do after they get out of school, Santiago knew right off the bat that he wanted to be involved in the world of cinema somehow.  Aside from that, he enjoys playing basketball and spending time with family and friends.  In addition, Santiago is very interested in being involved in things much larger than himself.  For example, he is a part of many non-profit organizations whose goals are to help people and communities all over the world (i.e. Japan, Africa, and the Untied States).

Journey: He was born in San Diego on August 14, 1998 and has had a wonderful life growing up in the Carmel Valley area.