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Students Take to Runway in Support of Cinderella’s Closet


This article was written by sophomore Mollie Tobin; Photographs taken by sophomore Megan Singh.

Student volunteers from Ranney and schools across Monmouth County spent Friday January 31, 2014, walking the runway and working behind the scenes at the seventh annual Cinderella’s Closet Prom Fashion Showcase. Held at Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune, students came from Ranney School as well as Christian Brothers Academy, Colts Neck, Freehold, Holmdel, Howell, Marlboro, Manalapan, Middletown North, Middletown South, Special Heroes, St. John Vianney and Saint Rose.

Cinderella’s Closet of Monmouth County was founded by two Ranney alums: Katie Adams ’09 and Stephanie Tomasetta ’08 after they learned of the organization’s efforts across the United States. Every year, Cinderella’s Closet of Monmouth County holds a boutique (this year, to be held March 15 at Long Branch High School) in which underprivileged students throughout the county can shop for donated prom dresses, accessories, tuxedos, and hopefully this year, shoes. Ranney students have been involved in raising funds, baking cookies, decorating, helping with raffles and modeling for the organization since its inaugural boutique in 2008. That year, the nonprofit helped 100 girls; today, according to their website, Cinderella’s Closet of Monmouth County helps close to 350 students a year. Each year, at least two Ranney Upper School students and their parents help to serve as volunteer leaders of the organization’s major events. The annual Fashion Showcase serves as a fundraiser for the upcoming prom season.

The 2014 showcase event began with raffle bidding on many auction items donated to Cinderella’s Closet. This year, students from Matawan Regional, Middleton North, Monmouth Regional, Manalapan, Red Bank Regional and St. Rose made custom and original designs for the Project Runway Challenge portion of the night. The audience and three judges voted for their favorite dress, which the designers modeled themselves. Judges included Marnie Hanley, brand manager for Macy’s Herald Square; Tracy Welch, president of Rena Lange USA; and Angela Whitehill, Founding Artistic Director at Burklyn Ballet Theater.

Following this portion of the runway viewing were models styled by Whispers Fashion in Manalapan and Men’s Wearhouse in Freehold. Girls wore sparkly and exotic prom dresses while the guys wore black or white tuxedos. Right before his big moment on the runway, Ranney’s Sid Sharma '16 (Aberdeen) said, “It’s fun to look good while helping those in need.”

Also modeling for Ranney were James Geraghty ’16 (Colts Neck), Giuila DiGuglielmo '14 (Eatontown) and Grace Wilgucki '15 (Freehold Township). Additional volunteers who helped with the raffle and prizes included sophomores Danielle Patti (Manalapan), Stephanie Falletta (Colts Neck) and Megan Singh (Colts Neck).

In between the Project Runway Challenge and the Fashion Show, a talented acoustic duo band performed several songs.

At the end of the night, Danielle Patti, said, “The fashion show was really fun and successful! Overall, everyone had a great time. All of the models looked amazing and the crowd had a blast seeing all of the different dresses. It was for a great cause and the night couldn’t have been better!”

To learn more about Cinderella’s Closet of Monmouth County, please visit cinderellasclosetmc.org.
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society. 

We envision Ranney School as a nurturing learning community, in which families, faculty, alumni, and all of Ranney’s constituents collaborate to know and value every child, foster individual talents, sustain powerful connections between children and adults, and graduate resilient, globally-minded citizens.