When there is a need there is a way.

In 2002, Cole Stevens Salon and Day Spa owner, Diane Stevens met a 10th grade girl who had suffered from with a history of family drug addiction and an absentee father. Diane discovered the negative impact of the girl’s exposure to drugs and prostitution on her self-esteem and image, as well as her academic performance. Diane knew she had to do something to help.

The task was simple at first--a day of outward beauty at the salon. However, Diane later found that fixing the outer beauty was the easy part, yet only a mask for the deeper issues within.

This revelation transformed into a desire to donate spa services to girls. Cole Stevens Salon became the backdrop for the foundation’s educational and cultural enrichment programs. What started out as a day of pampering for underprivileged girls turned into a unique God-given vision to develop a program to strengthen the beauty from within.

The Cinderella Foundation is a non- profit [501(c)(3)] organization designed to empower African American and African girls and women living in high risk and low income communities in the Washington Metropolitan region and abroad. The program works with girls through ongoing mentoring and academic enrichment, thereby strengthening their self-esteem and the women of Sierra Leone, West Africa providing cosmetology training to create economic opportunity to support themselves and their families in their war-torn country.