Saving Our Cinderellas

Support a magical organization with our Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella capsule collection!

The non-profit organization Saving Our Daughters was founded with the mission of supporting adolescent girls of color in overcoming social barriers such as bullying, dating violence and low self-esteem – and works to integrate that mission into dynamic programming for participants across the country. Saving Our Cinderellas, a special sector of programming within Saving Our Daughters, was co-founded by esteemed actress, singer and talk show host Keke Palmer. 

Saving Our Daughters took on a deeper meaning in 2009, when founders Debbie and Curtis Benjamin’s youngest daughter, Iliss Marie, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. In 2011, she sadly lost her battle to cancer at the age of 12. Since 2014, the engine of Debbie and Curtis’ work is fueled by the devastating loss of their daughter.

In 2014, while performing on Broadway in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Keke Palmer invited underprivileged girls from the Bronx and Queens, New York to attend the Broadway musical. Keke was the first Black actress to star as Cinderella on Broadway.

This opportunity for a group of girls to watch their first Broadway musical, with Keke in the leading role as the iconic Cinderella, was an incredible experience that jumpstarted a new program called Saving Our Cinderellas. This program focuses on reaching girls from multicultural backgrounds, using the arts to integrate values of confidence and leadership and deter the negative effects of low-self-esteem and self-identity.

Using celebrity role models as mentors to educate girls beyond the limitations of the traditional classroom, Saving Our Daughters also introduces participants to national opportunities in the arts, including integrating programming with film, television and theatre.

For more information about the organization, visit savingourdaughters.org.