Late Windham resident's legacy lives on through Tia’s Prom Project

By Dina Mendros

Tatiana “Tia” Morrell of Windham is remembered by her friends and family as “uplifting,” “generous” and “a bright light” in the lives of others. Tia was taken too young. She died in a moped accident in 2024, and she was only 28 years old.

The late Tatiana 'Tia" Morrell of
Windham attended proms when
she was a student at Windham
High School and now her friends
and family are remembering her
by providing free prom dresses
to Cumberland County stduents
through an initiative called
'Tia's Prom Project.'
COURTESY PHOTO   
 

Those who loved her don’t want Tia to be forgotten and have decided to memorialize her through the creation of an initiative called Tia’s Prom Project. Starting this year, the project will provide dresses to high school and middle school students in Cumberland County for prom, homecoming, or any other formal or semi-formal school events at no cost to the student.

Friends and family say that they wanted to find a way to remember Tia in a meaningful and lasting way because of the type of person she was.

“She was a very big person with a very big personality,” Samantha Erickson said. “She was the type of person when she came into the room you knew she was there, and you would feel that she would radiate energy. Even when she left the room that energy just stuck with you and you just took it wherever you went for the remainder of the day.”

Others agree and are happy to help with the project.

“She was just such a bright light in all of our lives,” Devon Jones said. “She would always make sure that everyone felt included and felt like they belonged. She would make sure people felt like they had a purpose and like they mattered.”

Tia was “high spirited and very giving,” her mother, Shelly Worthing, said. “She was always a light in the room as a child and always happy with a smile on her face.”

The inspiration for remembering Tia through Tia’s Prom Project stems from an event that took place when she was just in eighth grade. A new girl started school in Windham and Tia, her mother said, wanted to help the girl by buying her a dress to attend a semi-formal dance cruise that eighth grade students were attending at the end of the school year.

According to Worthing, the girl had a rough childhood and would not likely be able to attend the event if Tia hadn’t helped out. Worthing said that her daughter was independent and determined and once she decided she wanted to help the student there was no stopping her.

Tia enlisted the assistance of her mother and together they bought a dress and on the day of the dance cruise, Worthing helped the new student with her hair and makeup.

“I remember (the student) having the night of her life at that dance,” Erickson said. After that, people started talking to the girl and being nice to her. “They saw her as a person finally. It was just a huge turning point.”

Worthing said that led to this new effort.

“Samantha (Erickson) was the one that remembered that story and that’s what kind of started our project,” Worthing said.

Worthing and Tia’s friends have big plans for Tia’s Prom Project. The initial plan was to have dresses donated and available for Cumberland County school proms in 2026. However, people have already started requesting dresses for homecoming dances which take place this month and in October.

While the dresses are limited, they are available for those who are interested. By next year’s prom season, organizers say they are hoping to have several hundred dresses available for students to choose from. Eventually, Worthing said, they hope to work with property owners who have vacancies where they can house the dresses and students can peruse them and try them on.

Erickson said she hopes that girls will take pictures of themselves in the dresses and/or write a note about their experience wearing the dress on their special night which can be shared with other girls who wear it at a later event. In addition to taking donated dresses, they want to be able to provide accessories, so they are accepting donations of shoes, jewelry, makeup and other items.

“The idea really only came to life in May,” Erickson said. “Even in the first year we just plan to get bigger and bigger with this. So yeah, you know, we’ve only just begun.”

To find out more about Tia’s Prom Project visit their Facebook page. To request dresses for homecoming, prom or other formal or semi-formal school events, send an email to Tiaspromproject@yahoo.com or call Samantha Erickson at 207-747-7308, Shelley Worthing at 207-232-1967 or Devon Jones at 207-310-8869.

Prom dresses to be donated can be dropped off at 8 Turning Leaf Drive in Windham; 585 Roosevelt Trail in Windham; 781 Edes Falls Road in Harrison; 780 Broadway St. in South Portland, or from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Causeway Commons, 978 Roosevelt Trail in Naples; or call or email to have them picked up. <

Organizers grateful for public support of Cinderella Project event

Compassion Cloud Collective partners, from left, Brooke 
Likens of Stone Donut Design, Halie Landry of Ritual Maine,
Robyn Weyeneth of Cosmic Complexions, Kristy Verdel of
Moon Lady Plants, Hannah McFarland of The Compassion
Cloud Collective, and Kasandra Thach of K Sweeets gather
at the Oscars Watch Party fundraiser at Smitty's Cinema in
Windham on March 27. The event collected more than four
gowns and prom attire for Windham students to wear to 
prom this year if needed. SUBMITTED PHOTO 

By Ed Pierce

Hannah McFarland believes that through her actions, she can be an agent of change leading to a better community. And if the first event hosted by her new nonprofit organization is any indication of how much of an impact it is making in Windham, she’s on the right track.

McFarland, a 2016 Windham High School graduate, has created the Compassion Cloud Collective, a nonprofit which conceived and staged a special fundraiser “Oscars Viewing Party” at Smitty’s Cinema on March 27 in Windham to assist The Cinderella Project of Maine in collecting new and gently used prom attire for teens to make sure every student will have an opportunity to attend their high school prom without the added stress of cost. In all more than four dozen gowns, four suits and a tuxedo along with several shoe and jewelry donations were donated to Windham High as a result of the event.

The Compassion Cloud Collective is a multi-mission, nonprofit organization owned and operated by female business owners who seek to find the silver lining in all of life's storms by using the strengths of each of their partners. 

“I think this event went amazing considering it was our first event as a group and we kind of found our footing of what we liked and what we want to do better as we continue,” McFarland said. “The number of dresses, suits, jewelry and even tuxedos that we were able to pass on to Windham High School makes me emotional just thinking about and I am proud of the work my team did for this event.”

Businesses who helped the Compassion Cloud Collective at the event were Modern Woodmen of America, Cosmic Complexions, Ritual Maine, Moon Lady Plants, Stone Donut Design, K Sweets, Macs By Seyya, and Smitty's Cinema Windham.

Kristy Verdel, the owner of Moon Lady Plants said that the event shows inclusivity.

“A sense of community is extremely important to every Compassion Cloud Collective member,” she said.

Brooke Likens, the owner of Stone Donut Design said she was pleased to participate for such a worthy cause.

“It was nice to be able to take the time and talk to those we did meet,” she said. “I feel like it gave us the opportunity to present ourselves fully and create rapport with the community.”

Likens said awareness about income-privilege should be the big take-away from events like this.

“Prom is such a large event in the high school experience, and costs are out of control and not all families can afford the big-ticket items,” she said. “I love that this event made the necessities available for those who weren’t able to do this on their own. Teens shouldn’t be made to feel less by missing out on something so big in their childhood and the heart behind this type of event is huge.”

Verdel agrees.

“I want people to take away that every voice matters,” Verdel said. “It’s so cliché but it’s true that each individual makes a difference. We all come from different areas and different backgrounds, yet we all have the same heart.”

According to McFarland, the Compassion Cloud Collective is deeply grateful to everyone who helped make the event successful.

“We’re incredibly thankful for who helped me make this happen for Windham. Each of my partners of the CCC and for all those that came and donated extremely sentimental and treasured dresses for our cause, thank you,” she said. “Lastly, I’m so thankful for my longtime precious employer, Smitty’s Cinema, for being so incredibly accommodating to me and my partners. Smitty’s bent over backwards to help in every way they could and even donated to our cause. Smitty’s Cinema is where I first was a part of a prom dress drive featuring the Oscar’s, back in 2017 as the assistant director of marketing and sales, so to have their support now means everything.”

She says it was necessary for the Compassion Cloud Collective’s first fundraiser to be in Windham.

“It was important to me for the first event of my own nonprofit be in the town that watched me grow into the person I am today,” McFarland said. “What I want people to take away from this event is that community is everything and the impact you can have on it is so much stronger as a collective. That’s what the CCC is all about. Though we have our own unique lives, schedules and focus, we find time to come together to better the things we have in common.”

The intention of the event was to help Windham High School students attend prom by providing them free and fabulous prom gowns while at the same time promoting positive self-esteem and community volunteerism among the teens and McFarland said that was what was achieved through the “Oscars Watch Party” event.

“My hope is that it starts a wave that people will follow in their own communities and that the CCC can lead by example and possibly collaborate with other non-profits and businesses, in the future,” she said. <

Cinderella Project event Sunday to benefit WHS students

2016  Windham High graduate Hannah
McFarland has created the Compassion
Cloud Collective, a new nonprofit which will
host an 'Oscars Watch Party' at 6 p.m. Sunday,
March 27 as a fundraiser for the Cinderella
Project of Maine which provides prom dresses
and attire for high school students across the
state of Maine. COURTESY PHOTO  

By Ed Pierce

Prom season for Windham High School students is nearing and with it comes all the excitement and memorable times to be savored for a lifetime but for some area families hit hard by the pandemic and struggling to make ends meet, the costs associated with attending a prom can limit some budgets.

But now a nonprofit organization, The Cinderella Project of Maine, is teaming with Smitty’s Cinema to make going to the prom a bit less stressful through a special fundraiser this weekend in Windham. The event is an “Oscars Viewing Party” starting at 6 p.m.  Sunday at Smitty’s in Windham that will include pop-up shops, a raffle, a drawing, menu service and all the festivities from the 94th Academy Awards presentation in Hollywood on the big screen.  

No admission will be charged to attend but participants are asked to bring a donation item to benefit the Cinderella Project of Maine, a nonprofit organization located in Belfast.

Hannah McFarland has organized the event, the very first for her newly formed nonprofit called The Compassion Cloud Collective. She said she chose to help the Cinderella Project of Maine because of the impact its work has on the community.    

“They collect new and gently used prom attire for teens in Maine in an effort to make sure everyone gets an opportunity to have a memorable prom without the added stress of cost.”

McFarland first became involved with the Cinderella Project of Maine in 2017 when she worked for Smitty’s Cinema as assistant director of marketing and sales.

“That was when I learned what they were all about and the impact they make and Smitty’s has given me permission to continue on the Oscar’s event tradition,” she said.  

Now serving as the lead activities coordinator and administrative assistant for Modern Woodmen of America’s Regional Director Scott McDonald, McFarland aims to help Windham High School students attend prom by providing them free and fabulous prom gowns while at the same time promoting positive self-esteem and community volunteerism among the teens.

“In 2016, I started with Modern Woodmen as an activities coordinator and fell in love with the job. Since then, philanthropy, compassion and giving back to my community has been one of my biggest missions,” McFarland said. “Now in 2022 I have worked alongside nearly every nonprofit in the state of Maine. I would not have the love, drive and resources for philanthropy work without the example set by Modern Woodmen of America and their generous outpouring into our community in so many impactful ways.” 

According to McFarland, her new The Compassion Cloud Collective is a multi-mission, nonprofit organization owned and operated by female business owners who seek to find the silver lining in all of life's storms by using the strengths of each of their partners. 

“Each one of our seven partners has their own mission that they stand for, but all of them as a collective are fighting together to raise awareness on mental health in today's world,” she said. “For this event we chose Windham, although The CCC seeks to cover all of Maine. I am a 2016 Windham High School graduate and worked at Smitty’s Cinema in Windham for seven years. Anyone who knows me, knows that Smitty’s had more of my time than my actual home and that Smitty’s was my home for several years. It was important to me for the first event of my own nonprofit be in the town that watched me grow into the person I am today. The good, bad, awkward and happy days Windham has been a part of for me.” 

Planning for the “Oscars Viewing Party” began at the start of this year and McFarland said that the event grew and developed from there.

“I could not have made this event happen without Modern Woodmen’s generous donations of prom attire, the support of Smitty’s Cinema in my event accommodations and the collaboration of my wonderful partners of The CCC.”

Beyond hosting the fundraising event Sunday on behalf of the Cinderella Project of Maine and spreading the word to make the greatest impact upon public donations for the effort, McFarland said that Modern Woodmen is donating $1,000 worth of prom attire to make sure that teens across Maine have the best prom ever this year.

 

She said those donations will be recognized and displayed along with the others that come for the event on Sunday.

 

“We are also holding a raffle of assorted goods from each vendor, tickets are a minimum of a $1 donation and the donations will go toward the efforts of The CCC both present and future such as Oscar’s event costs and future events are planned.” 

 

Vendor booths for the event Sunday include Windham’s Modern Woodmen of America, The Compassion Cloud Collective, K Sweets, Ritual Maine, Stone Donut Design, Moon Lady Plants, Macs by Seyya, and Cosmic Complexions.

 

“Our hope is to bring awareness to the endeavors of the Cinderella Project of Maine because in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, they need our support more than ever and our Maine teens deserve it,” McFarland said. “Along with that we really just want a chance to introduce who we are at The CCC to the community of Windham and to have a blast while making an impact where it is needed. We believe at The CCC that working together as a collective group can make bigger waves and deeper impacts than we can ever imagine as individuals.” <