As a little girl, Samantha, like other little girls, liked to play dress up. She was always Cinderella. She would wear her mother's "fancy dresses," as she called them, and spin around and around in circles. Her mother would fix her hair and paint her nails and tell Samantha that she was the most beautiful princess in all the land. When Samantha was only nine, her fairy tale came to an end when Samantha's beloved parents were killed in a tragic accident. Having no other close family, Samantha was placed in state care.

She lived in a series of foster homes until she finally found a long term placement within Van Zandt County, a loving family who adored her. During her Junior year of high school, a boy that she liked asked Samantha to the Prom. Her foster family simply did not have the funds to provide a prom dress, and were afraid that Sam's dream of being Cinderella may not come true. Until her Caseworker called the ABC Room. Board Members made phone calls and in no time they had found a family who offered to purchase a Prom dress for Samantha - the daughter of the family even offered to pick her up and take her shopping! The girls had a great day of shopping and lunch - and Samantha? Well, Samantha was Cinderella of course - and she had the dress to prove it!