About Us

 It All Started in 2002!

The Princess Project began in February 2002 when a teen needed a dress for prom. Founders Laney Whitcanack and Kristi Smith Knutson responded to the teen’s request for help by involving friends and family in a dress drive. Within days, donations from all over the San Francisco Bay Area offered their support through donations of their “time, talent and taffeta.” In 2005, we became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and in 2009 the Princess Project came to San Diego, and since then our non-profit has served over 20,000 teens through the dedication of more than 2,000 volunteers!

Our Mission

 We believe in making dreams real, every day.

The Princess Project promotes self-confidence and individual beauty by providing free prom dresses and accessories to high school teens. Our effort is made possible through invaluable support from volunteers, donors, sponsors and the community.

In addition to helping high school teens attend their prom with style and confidence, The Princess Project is driven by seven core values. In everything we do, we strive to honor these values so that we can continue to provide the most fun and memorable experience for the teens we serve, volunteers that help, and our generous donors.

Celebration

We CELEBRATE bodies of all sizes and avoid using body imagery in our 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 we serve and royalty-related imagery like tiaras and crowns, we celebrate the beauty and diversity of teens everywhere

Value

We VALUE the importance of recycling and of using the earth’s resources wisely. We seek to show our respect for this recycling process by treating each clothing and/or accessory donation as valued and important.

Trust

We TRUST that teens who are in financial need of garments or accessories will attend The Princess Project events, and we will welcome them without question. We in turn will foster the important trust of our donors, who give to The Princess Project with the intent that teens in need will be taken care of.

Create

We strive to CREATE a respectful, fun atmosphere for the teens we serve at the Dress Giveaway events.

Include

We strive to INCLUDE representatives of teens that we serve in our decision-making processes.

Offer

We strive to OFFER meaningful volunteer leadership opportunities for women, and seek to provide a venue for volunteers to grow personally and professionally. We seek to make The Princess Project planning process rewarding, educational, and fun for our volunteers.

Diversity

We strive to represent the DIVERSITY in our communities and our volunteer corps.

Each year, The Princess Project benefits from the dedication of the following volunteers. From our Board of Directors to each committee member, we are a 100% volunteer run organization.

General inquiries: sandiego@princessproject.org