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PHILADELPHIA - Bonni Jones almost skipped her senior prom. Her mother had just died, and money was tight. But she got in touch with some fairy godmothers, and on prom night, the student from Charles Y. Audenried High School dazzled her classmates in a light blue gown with rhinestone-encrusted straps crisscrossing in back, with a matching belt, hosiery, a bracelet, and rhinestone stud earrings. ''It was a self-esteem boost,'' Jones said. ''I came into the prom and got a compliment from the principal about how beautiful I looked, how proud he was of me.''  Her evening was made possible by a group that is in fact called Fairy Godmothers of Pennsylvania, a five-month-old organization that collects and distributes formalwear, such as used prom dresses or new bridal-store surplus goods, to underprivileged high school girls who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend their junior or senior proms. The group is modeled after a Scottsdale, Ariz., not-for-profit that Joyce Jesko read about during a recent trip out West. There are about a dozen such organizations in cities across the United States, including Nashville, Puget Sound, Wash., Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington, D.C., that outfit teenagers for what many their age consider the night of their lives. ''That's your last hurrah for high school. Even in 2001, I believe it's still a big thing to go to, especially when parents say, `We can't afford a dress.' That's when they really want to go,'' said Jesko, who has a picture from her prom in her office.

Donations pour in
       Jesko is CEO of Cobra Wire & Cable, and a small supply room near the employee restrooms there has become Cinderella Central - sans pumpkin and horsemen. Recently, the room was a sea of silk, crinolines, and beads. Bright fuchsia gowns glowed beneath dry-cleaning plastic, as sequins reflected the light of the overhead fluorescent bulbs.
      Jesko collected dresses from people's homes, and a local cleaner volunteered to be a drop-off site. She informed school boards and wrote letters to retailers asking for donations, and contributions poured in: 98 new bridesmaid dresses from a now-shuttered bridal boutique in nearby Quakertown, 260 pairs of dyeable shoes, costume jewelry, a load of pantyhose, 200 gift certificates from coiffeur Gordon Phillips/Empire, and discount coupons for tuxedo rentals.
     On top of that, the girls received a pastel pink makeup mirror that Jesko designed, with the inscription: ''Mirror, mirror, in my hand/Who's the fairest in the land?/The Prom Princess.''
     The Fairy Godmothers, including Jesko's sister, mother, aunt, and cousin (even her brother helped out at the registration table), held three open houses beginning in April.
     Jesko, who collected 500 dresses, brought full-length mirrors to each site. She even taught the girls how to walk in high-heeled shoes: ''Heel-toe, heel-toe,'' Jesko instructed. ''They couldn't walk in them, because they wear sneakers and jeans every day. I said, `Bend your leg.' They walk like Herman Munster.''
      One of the 109 dresses given away over those three days - a peach-colored dress that flared at the bottom and shone with rhinestones across the chest - went to Philadelphia's Elisabeth Tookes, a 12th-grader at Benjamin Franklin High School.
    ''I didn't know what to do about the prom at all. I didn't know if I'd go. I considered not going,'' explained the soon-to-be engineering major at Drexel University, who had nothing to wear to what she considers a pre-wedding.

None left wanting
      Monetary concerns were one of the reasons Pam Seligman founded the Cinderella Project in Palm Harbor, Fla. ''I didn't go to my prom, [because of] finances. I still regret not going,'' Seligman said.  Now, she makes sure no other teenager is in that situation.  ''Girls walk out of here so thankful,'' Seligman said. ''Just knowing we helped girls go to the prom, because it's important to a lot of young girls.''
      In Jesko's office in Hatboro, Pa., eight racks of outfits remain unclaimed. The jumbled, multihued rows of elegant dresses look like a Technicolor version of the annual Filene's Basement running of the brides.
      But some of these outfits will never see a prom, like the size 9-10 accordion-pleated mauve contraption, complete with bolero jacket, that Jesko said she'll donate directly to a high school theater department.
      ''The value of these dresses is that (girls) don't have to be humiliated at the prom,'' said Dr. Leon Hoffman, co-director of the Parent Child Center in New York City. ''Adolescents are always comparing themselves to each other, and how they look is of importance to each other.''
      Jesko has witnessed the power of the pouf herself. ''If they were there with their mom or girlfriends, they were so elated,'' Jesko said. ''They were hugging us and thanking us, and one mother said, `She wouldn't have gone to the prom without it.'''

Zlati Meyer is a Globe correspondent.
This story ran on page A03 of the Boston Globe on 6/4/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.

HATBORO � There it is, collecting dust in the closet. That dress that made you look like a princess at the prom or wonderful at the wedding. And now that gown in just hanging around.  It doesn�t have to be that way.  An area women has started a nonprofit organization with the goal of turning dreams into reality for girls who might not otherwise be able to afford it. "A prom is your last hurrah of high school, your big night and you want to look like a princess," said Joyce Jesko, founder and President of Fairy Godmothers of Pennsylvania.
      The Doylestown resident has enlisted the help of several family members in the effort to collect new and gently used dresses to give, at no charge, to needy girls in the Philadelphia area. With prom season right around the corner, the women are looking for more dresses so they don�t have to turn down any requests.
      Its no secret prom gowns can cost hundreds of dollars.  Jesko�s mother Barbara Schaeffer of Northeast Philadelphia, is assistant treasurer for Fairy Godmothers.  "There are a lot of girls whose parents can�t afford it," she said "I feel bad for the girls."  "I like helping people and children," said Jesko, who serves on the board of directors of Laurel House, an emergency domestic violence shelter in Montgomery County.
      Several months ago Jesko read about a similar program in Arizona. She met with the organizer of the Arizona Fairy Godmothers and brought the idea and enthusiasm back home.  The Glass Slipper Project is a similar organization located in Chicago.
   It is the first season locally, Fairy Godmothers is targeting students at several Philadelphia high schools. Jesko�s sister Barbie McDonald who is the program�s vice president, has been in charge of communicating with school counselors to determine which girls have the greatest need.
      They ask that the girls have at least a C average and a good attendance record.      As the dresses come in, Jesko and her volunteers make sure they are clean and in good shape. Formal dresses of all types and sizes are welcome, including bridesmaids� gowns. "Even though the girls can�t afford it, they�ll still have style," Jesko said. "Every girl wants to walk into that prom and feel special."  The women have contacted several dry cleaners and consignment shops hoping to secure more dresses. Jesko is also trying to make connections with several large department stores.  For now the dresses are being stored at the wire and cable business Jesko runs with her husband, Paul in Hatboro.
      They will be given to the girls at their school. Eventually the women would like to expand their program to include shoes and accessories.  They�d also like to branch our into Montgomery and Bucks counties.  This is only way to give back to the community," Jesko said.  To donate a dress to Fairy Godmothers of Pennsylvania call (215)674-8773 Ext 125.