The Fairy Godmother Foundation

The Fairy Godmother Foundation

Written by Kara Vaught Tuesday, 26 February 2008

A Leander woman has an unusual goal for 2008 — she wants to be a full-time fairy godmother by the end of the year.

Keri Byer’s nonprofit, Keri’s Fairy Godmother Foundation, provides teenagers with gowns, shoes, jewelry and accessories for prom, homecoming, dances and special occasions. With a school ID card, girls can borrow outfits for every event free of charge.

Though school-age girls are Byer’s target group, the foundation can also lend wedding gowns and accessories for $25. The whole operation is run from the Princess Palace, a building behind Byer’s home that formerly housed her craft projects.

An accountant by day and a fairy godmother during the evenings and on weekends, Byer said the work is exhausting.

“It wears you out, especially during prom season,” she said. “We’ll have a big prom fair where we invite a bunch of girls, but there are always stragglers and ones who didn’t know about it. I help two to three girls a night and then more on the weekends.”

This year, she is concentrating on finding a larger, permanent place for the palace somewhere in Austin. Then she plans to quit accounting work and spend all her time granting wishes.

The foundation began by accident in 2006 when a co-worker told her about a girl who could not afford a prom outfit. Byer posted announcements about the need on freecycle.org and craigslist.com. The response, she said, was overwhelming.

“I spent the next two weeks driving around Austin picking everything up because I didn’t know what her size was or what her tastes were,” Byer said. “I put it all together in a bedroom upstairs, and when she came, there were 25 gowns and several pairs of shoes to pick from.”

But the offers of gowns, shoes and accessories didn’t stop, and word spread that someone was helping girls who needed special-occasion dresses.

“Before we knew it, we had more than 100 gowns,” Byer said.

With the help of her husband and son, Byer cleaned out her craft building and began raising funds so she could establish a non-profit organization.

“It is very expensive — there is nothing cheap about being a nonprofit,” she said.

Byer said she has great luck with volunteers and donors — including one celebrity. Last year, Sharon Stone’s nonprofit threw a prom for girls who couldn’t attend their own, and designers donated gowns.

“They had a bunch of leftover stuff, and they contacted me and asked if I would be insulted if they sent all of the leftovers. I said, ‘Oh my gosh, I love leftovers!’”

Locals have also pitched in with donations and offers of free hair and makeup sessions.

“We don’t buy a lot — most things, even down to our office supplies, get donated,” Byer said.

Princess for a day

In addition to loaning gowns and accessories, The Fairy Godmother Foundation conducts Princess for a Day photo shoots several times a year. Selected girls are invited to the Princess Palace, assigned a personal shopper and get to choose two different outfits in which to have their photo taken. Volunteers do hair and makeup for the girls, while others pamper the girls’ mothers with mini-spa treatments. Each girl’s favorite picture is printed and framed.

The Fairy Godmother Foundation, 501 Tyrone Drive, Leander, www.austinfairygodmother.org, 507-6364