Legacy of Cincinnati’s philanthropic women past and present helps make fairytales come true
CINCINNATI – Kenzie’s Closet and Cincinnati Museum Center are teaming up! Kenzie’s Closet is hosting a Dress Drive at Diana, A Celebration and Daughters of the Queen City at Cincinnati Museum Center from May 28 through June 1. The five-day Dress Drive will kick off at 6 p.m. on May 28 during Diana: Toast of the Town, a Museum Center event where visitors can partake in a cash wine bar and enjoy light appetizers before or after visiting Diana, A Celebration. Those who donate a gently-used prom dress, evening gown or bridesmaid dress to Kenzie’s Closet during the May 28 through June 1 Dress Drive – either at Cincinnati Museum Center or at one of three local Appearance Plus locations – will receive $4 off admission to Museum Center’s current award-winning exhibition Diana, A Celebration. The exhibition is making the final stop of its 11-year world tour at Cincinnati Museum Center before the items return to her sons and family in England to be preserved for future generations. Daughters of the Queen City is a companion gallery to the exhibition that inspires the humanitarian in each of us by sharing the stories of some of the women whose philanthropic efforts have made Cincinnati the city it is today.
A local woman, Brynne Coletti, was inspired to start Kenzie’s Closet when she realized her daughter’s classmate could not attend prom because of financial issues. Brynne anonymously provided resources so that the young lady could have the prom experience every girl deserves.
“Kenzie’s Closet makes the prom dreams come true for financially-disadvantaged young girls – outfitting them with a prom dress, shoes, a wrap and jewelry, at no cost to them or their family,” says Coletti. “Our goal is that no young girl in Cincinnati will not be able to attend their own high school prom because of their family’s financial challenges.”
As prom season comes to a close, and spring weddings and special evening events are in the past, many Tri-state Cincinnati area girls and women will hang their dresses in their closets and never wear them again. Kenzie’s Closet is hoping that these kind-hearted women will instead choose to donate those dresses. These donations would become the centerpiece of a fairytale evening for a junior or senior high school student who may not have the financial means to buy her own dress. Kenzie’s Closet also accepts monetary donations to keep the important mission alive. Diana, A Celebration and Daughters of the Queen City is a fitting location for Kenzie’s Closet’s Dress Drive.
“Princess Diana and the several Cincinnati women featured in the gallery are such powerful examples of people who truly felt the best way to help and touch others is through the heart,” says Elizabeth Pierce, vice president at Cincinnati Museum Center. “Brynne and the other women involved with Kenzie’s Closet are inspiring examples of how small acts of kindness can touch someone’s life in a way they’ll never forget.”
Local businesses are also helping to support the Dress Drive. Anyone who donates an item will be entered into a raffle for gifts including: two $50 gift cards to Appearance Plus, a $25 gift card to Target, one necklace and a $25 gift card to Truck Shop Jewelry and five $50 gift cards to Romualdo Tailoring, Alterations and Formal Wear in Madeira.
Kenzie’s Closet was named in memory of Kenzie Comisar, a friend of Coletti’s daughter, who passed away during her senior year of high school. Kenzie was known for her giving heart, endearing smile and kind and generous spirit. She touched the lives of many of her classmates and neighbors in her short eighteen years.
“Kenzie Comisar is indeed an example of how simple acts by just one young girl from Greater Cincinnati can, in turn, inspire other young girls and women in our region to pay it forward for other young girls and women,” says Coletti. “This organization that was begun in Kenzie’s memory has now impacted the lives of over 2,800 junior and senior high school girls in our region in just the last nine years.”
The Dress Drive will help replenish Kenzie’s Closet’s stock after another successful prom season.
“There is so much potential in each young girl, in each young woman, and in fact, all women of Greater Cincinnati to make a difference for all of Cincinnati’s daughters,” added Museum Center’s Elizabeth Pierce.
The Kenzie’s Closet Dress Drive kicks off at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 28 at Diana, A Celebration and will run through June 1. People may donate items at Cincinnati Museum Center or may take donations to any of the area’s Appearance Plus locations, where all donations are sorted and cleaned. For more information, visit www.kenziescloset.org or www.cincymuseum.org.