Utah State University - » Young princesses party for a worthy cause

Young princesses party for a worthy cause

April 19th, 2011 Posted in Arts and Life

Story and photos by Emily Pannell Johnson

LOGAN—Little girls dressed up in their best princess dresses partied, played and were pampered Saturday to help raise money for the Child and Family Support Center. The center’s Princess Party at the Riverwoods Conference Center had all the perks you’d expect for a little princess.

“There was a bunch of fliers at school, and when I read about the makeup, the hair tinsel and the up-dos, it got my attention,” 9-year-old Grace Henrie said.

Each princess was greeted with a personalized sash and presented a rose by Cinderella and Prince Charming. CFSC employees, interns and volunteers waited close by to paint fingernails and do makeup, and cosmetology students from Maximum Style Inc. styled hair. Little princesses could have their picture taken with Belle, have story time with Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother and attend a tea party with the Mad Hatter. Along with the games and crafts for children, there was also a massage chair and eyebrow waxing for mothers.

Esterlee Molyneux, executive director of CFSC, said that as a non-profit organization they need fundraisers like the princess party in order to keep their doors open and further their mission of strengthening families and protecting children.

“Just to have an event where families can come and be together and children can be happy, that’s what we’re all about,” Molyneux said.

Some of the money from the fundraiser will go to the center’s 24-hour crisis nursery, Molyneux said; because the crisis nursery is free of charge and open 24 hours a day, seven days per week, it uses up a lot of the center’s resources. Molyneux said that last year there were 3,206 visits to the crisis nursery from families in Cache County and Rich County. Molyneux said the nursery is not only for stressed parents who may need a break, but also for parents receiving medical treatment or who encounter an emergency, when they either don’t have or can’t afford childcare.

Karli Estrada, a Utah State University sociology student who helped organize the event for her capstone community project, said she was pleasantly surprised with the success of the fundraiser.

“It’s more than what I expected,” Estrada said. “We were shooting for about 75 kids, and there are probably more than 120 kids here.” Estrada said that with the success of the event, it will likely become an annual fundraiser.

For more information on the Child and Family Support Center and the services they offer, go to cachecfsc.org. To contact the 24 hour crisis nursery, call 435-752-8880.

Tags: Cache, Child and Family Support Center, crisis nursery, princess party