Sweet stranger helps dateless teen before prom: 'Cinderella shouldn't have to pump her own gas'
Ditched by her prom date, a North Carolina teen got the “Cinderella” treatment at a gas station.
A few days before her April 13th prom, Devin Bennett of Winston-Salem, North Carolina learned her date had backed out. “I didn’t want to be sad on prom night, so I went with my friends,” Bennett, 17, tells Yahoo Lifestyle.
Before taking photos in her dress at High Point University, Bennett stopped at Sheetz gas station to fill her tank, her mother and aunt following in their own car. The teen inserted her credit card into the gas pump when a woman said, “No way — Cinderella shouldn’t have to pump her own gas.”
The woman, Sherry Allgood wanted to help Bennett, especially after learning that she didn’t have a date. “Here she was with beautiful hair and makeup,” Allgood tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “I didn’t want her getting messed up.’”
Bennett excitedly showed off her pink Vans sneakers under her turquoise gown, while filling up. Both didn’t notice that Bennett’s aunt Gena Sykes Turpin, of Carolina Charm Photography, was shooting their conversation.
When Bennett’s aunt sent her the photos two weeks later, Bennett wanted to find Allgood. Bennett’s mom posted to a local Facebook page asking if anyone knew her, and when neighbors tagged the woman, everyone connected.
Executives at Sheetz, a family-owned business based in Pennsylvania, heard of the encounter from a local news program. Public relations manager Nick Ruffner tells Yahoo Lifestyle that since the women are loyal customers, they might appreciate a year’s worth of free gas. Ruffner and executive Emily Sheetz flew to North Carolina to hand each woman a gift card for $2,500.
On Monday, the women returned to Sheetz to receive their gifts. “Anyone in this community would have done the same,” Allgood tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Those prom dresses are expensive!”
Bennett tells Yahoo Lifestyle she wants to help Sherry. “Her daughter is going to prom soon, and I promised to pump her gas.”
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