NEWSLETTERS Receive the latest community updates in your inboxProm session is around the corner! The Princess Project San Francisco's 12th annual prom dress giveaway will begin Saturday, March 8. The giveaway is to provide prom dresses to teens that could otherwise not afford them. All teens that are in financial need are welcome to attend. No proof of financial need is required. Each teen can shop and choose one accessory and one gown.The Princess Project was started in 2002 to assure that every teen was able to have a special prom memory. Throughout its 12 years, The Princess Project has served more than 20,000 teens with the help of more than 2,000 volunteers, donors, and community support. When: Saturday, March 8: 8:30am-5pm; Sunday, March 9: 8:30am-5pm; Saturday, March 15: 8:30am-5pm; Sunday, Mach 22: 1pm-5pm Where: 2099 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94114For more information, click here. Mary Kuoch,17 from International Studies Academy, holds a donated Escada dress up to see how it would look as a prom dress.

Mary and two other high school girls volunteered to put out donated dresses that were goingt o San Franciso girls who would otherwise not be able to afford prom dresses. Photo by Gina Gayle/The SF Chronicle. Mary and two other high school girls volunteered to put out donated dresses that were ... moreBed Bath And Beyond Vanity Sets Li Qiu, 17, Feng Wu,17, and Mary Kuoch,17, take a fanstasy look through a bridal magazine to get ideas for prom dresses. Toilet Seat Loose On One SideThe three girls were volunteering to organize and get a sneak peak at dresses that will be offered to San Francisco students who cannot afford to buy prom dresses. Missionary Moving ServicesThe three girls were volunteering to organize and get a sneak peak at dresses that will ... more

Li Qiu, 17,of International Studies Academy, looks at tags as she organizes donated dresses to be given to San Francisco students who cannot afford to buy prom dresses. Mary Kuoch, 17, was also volunteering and getting a preview peak. Mary Kuoch, 17, was also volunteering and ... more Li Qiu, 17,of International Studies Academy, puts a designer dress around her neck to imagine how it would look for her prom as her friend and classmate Mary Kuoch looks on. The two girls were volunteering to put out dresses and accessories that will be offered to San Francisco students who cannot afford to buy prom dresses. The two girls were volunteering to ... more 2002-03-21 04:00:00 PDT San Francisco -- Li Qiu has found the perfect prom dress, which, when you're 17, is a Very Big Deal. The dress of her dreams is a slinky little Nicole Miller with spaghetti straps, a knee-length number in a shade of cranberry that is simply to die for. "I love it," Li, a senior at San Francisco's International Studies Academy, exclaimed as she admired the garment for the 100th time.

As nice as the dress is, the price is even better: free. These days, a stylish prom dress runs several hundred dollars, and there's no way Li could afford that. She was going to skip the prom, as were many of her cash-strapped friends. "A lot of girls can't go because dresses are so expensive," Li said. But Li and scores of San Francisco teenagers who would have missed the social event of high school for want of an affordable dress will dance the night away in gowns donated to the Princess Project by Bay Area women eager to clear them from their closets. Hundreds of bridesmaid and party dresses have poured into Coro Northern California in San Francisco in the six weeks since Laney Whitcanack and Kristi Smith Knutson e-mailed half a dozen friends in search of a dress for their friend, Li. "That was on a Friday," said Whitcanack, 28. "By Monday, I had 85 e-mails from people who had dresses." The pair, both from San Francisco, soon launched the Princess Project, an all-volunteer effort to round up free dresses for at least 500 girls.

"It's so easy to put yourself in their position and remember what it was like to go to the prom," Knutson said. "It's a chance for young women to feel good about themselves. It's such a big event that if you don't participate, it can be really isolating." So far, the Princess Project has rounded up 250 dresses from throughout the Bay Area. We're talking grade-A stuff from the likes of Escada, Donna Karan and Bella Bridesmaid. And then there are the shoes -- dozens of pairs from Charles David, Nine West and other top-shelf designers. "Some of this stuff is really saucy," Whitcanack said, sifting through a stack of shoes. A few girls who have helped organize the dresses agreed. "I want this one," said Feng Wu, a 17-year-old senior at Burton High School, as she ran her fingers along a hand-sewn crushed-velvet dress. "I like it because it's teal, and teal is my school color." Li and Feng plan to be front and center on Sunday, when hundreds of girls gather at the Presidio Alliance in San Francisco to select their gowns.

The girls seeking dresses, who learned about the event through word of mouth and announcements sent to their high schools, will operate on the honor system and don't have to prove financial hardship. Dresses will be displayed on racks, and volunteers will help them find shoes and accessories to match. "It will be dignified," Knutson promised. "There won't be a lot of kicking and scratching." The Princess Project needs more dresses. And accessories such as shawls and makeup. They'll take anything, in any size, in any style. "We've got seamstresses," Knutson said. "For dresses that are, um, more vintage, we can update the look." There is, however, one rule. "Would you wear it?" "Would you have your daughter wear it? If the answer is yes, we'll take it." How to help out with the San Francisco Princess Project To donate dresses, shoes, accessories and unopened cosmetics, call (415) 986- 0521, Ext. 225 or e-mailDonations will be accepted through tomorrow at these locations: