Salvation Army gives Camden moms Cinderella treatment [photos]

    There was no ball or Prince Charming, but the Salvation Army treated mothers from Camden to a night of pampering with the second annual Operation Cinderella.

    About 20 women were chauffeured in white stretch limousines to the Caryn Max Salon West in Moorestown for hair styling, makeup, manicures, and massage treatments, and then were swept off to Cherry Hill Mall for a $100 shopping spree. 

    The “catch” was that participants had to spend their $100 gift certificate on only themselves.

    “Charity during the holiday season is all about children and family,” said Maj. Sue Dunigan of the Salvation Army in Camden. “Mothers are forgotten.”

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    Dunigan came up with the idea for Operation Cinderella nine years ago in Boston. She would ask mothers as they picked out toys for their children what they were getting for Christmas. Too often, the answer was  “nothing,” said Dunigan.

    Salon owner Caryn Procaccini heard about Operation Cinderella when she stepped into the Salvation Army to inquire about the Red Kettle campaign. She ended up donating the services of her salon for the event.

    “I walked in to pick up a kettle just at the moment they were talking about Cinderella. What are the chances?” said Procaccini.

    Stylist and manager Kellie Harrison curled and styled the locks of Leticia Montiel as she looked on quietly.  Montiel, a mother of three, said it had been a year since her last trip to the salon.   

    After their evening of styling and shopping, the mothers ended the night with a little dessert and coffee.

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