Jo-Ann Strauss treats girls like Princesses

Aim to turn girls into princesses

FORMER Miss South Africa Jo- Ann Strauss is playing fairy godmother to scores of Cinderellas who wouldn’t make it to the ball without her.

Strauss, who is also a presenter on TV show Top Billing, has marshalled her glamourous friends to donate some of their ball gowns and cocktail frocks to girls who cannot afford designer dresses for their matric farewell parties .

Now Strauss is also planning to turn her Princess Project — which has already donated 70 frocks to deserving girls around the country — into a TV show, and will not only provide dresses to die for, but “also gives the girls a full makeover”.

Those who have donated designer outfits include socialite and businesswoman Uyanda Mbuli, singers Louise Carver and Judith Sephuma, model and surfer Roxy Louw and former Miss Universe and TV presenter Michelle McLean.

Also on the list are Generations actresses Sonia Sedibe and Sophie Ndaba and All Access presenter Tammy-Anne Fortuin.

Strauss, who gave away three of her own dresses — two of which she wore in her latest advertisement for a soap brand — said she “wanted to give back to girls in the country by making them feel like princesses”.

“It was a way I could make some girls feel like princesses by giving them a dress once worn by a celebrity so they feel just as beautiful on their special day,” she said.

Fortuin donated the baby pink sheath dress she wore to YFM DJ Bridget Masinga’s wedding last year, to 18-year-old matric pupil Berdene Sinclair for her dance at The Hill High School, in southern Johannesburg.

The dress was handed to Berdene in May, and she’ll wear it to her matric farewell in December. “If Berdene loved the dress, I am very happy that I can make her matric dance a memorable one,” Fortuin said.

“I wore that dress once and once you have been photographed in a dress, it’s not easy to wear it again.”

Berdene received the dress after sending a motivation to a magazine assisting the Princess Project.

She said she deserved it because she does “well at school”, adding that it would “make me look like a princess on my big day”.

“I was just taking a chance and I got a perfect dress,” Berdene told The Times.

Deserving young women in need of some glamour should keep an eye on participating magazines for a number they can SMS to motivate why they believe they should be a lucky Cinderella .