Photo by Jon Anderson
Members of the Hoover Belles service group participate in the Bluff Park Christmas Parade in Hoover, Alabamq, on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023.
The Hoover Belles, a service organization for girls during their junior and senior years of high school, is taking applications for new members through Nov. 14.
Girls selected to be in the organization serve as hosts at charity, civic and school events and are required to work at least 40 hours of community service through the Hoover Belle program.
Young ladies are eligible to apply to become a Hoover Belle during their sophomore year of high school and, if selected, serve a two-year term. Belles must be Hoover residents, deemed to have exemplary character, have a pleasant personality, be continuously enrolled in school, enjoy serving the city and local charities, and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 for her full term as a Hoover Belle.
A Belle must conduct herself in a manner that will be bring honor to the program and must sign a pledge vowing not to use drugs, alcohol, tobacco or nicotine during her tenure as a Belle.
There is an application fee of $25, and, if selected, a $375 fee due at orientation. The orientation fee does not include the cost of the Hoover Belle hoop skirt dress or uniform, which typically is an official Belle polo shirt with white skort or white pants. The cost of the Belle gown varies. It can be made or purchased from Belles who choose to sell their dresses after their term is complete.
The Hoover Belles at times have drawn criticism for wearing the hoop skirts because many people associate them with the period of slavery in the Antebellum South. According to the Belle Committee, black women also wore hoop skirts after being freed from slavery in the Antebellum South, and the hoop skirt became a symbol of liberation for both black and white women in America across several classes.
Applications to become a Hoover Belle are available on the city of Hoover website and must be returned with letters of reference by 4 p.m. on Nov. 14 to the Hoover city clerk’s office at Hoover City Hall at 100 Municipal Lane. Interviews and selections take place in January.
