Pinecrest Academy High School Girls Offer Prom Dresses for Young Ladies in Atlanta

One of the goals of Pinecrest Academy, a PreK-12th grade Catholic School in Cumming, GA, a northern suburb of Atlanta, is to develop a heart of service in each and every student.

One of the many vehicles designed to inspire a spirit of serving and caring for others is the “Ignite" initiative, a program of Christian service designed specifically for Pinecrest high school students, to help them develop servant leadership through projects focused on corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

One of Pinecrest’s junior girls Ignite teams launched a local chapter of Becca’s Closet, a national organization that provides formal dresses to those who may not be able to afford them.

Beginning in February 2016, under the leadership of Becca’s Closet Ignite team president, Mary Patota, prom dress donations were accepted in the school’s High School building. Young ladies in the local area seeking dresses were invited to visit the Pinecrest campus to select a dress from the collection. This was done by appointment, between 2:30pm and 4:30pm Monday through Friday over the course of almost two months.

Those who came in search of a dress received a warm welcome by girls on the Becca’s Closet team and escorted to the classroom of Ms. Berry, Ignite team advisor, where they were able to choose from about 150 dresses generously donated by members of Pinecrest and the local community.

To collect dresses for the Pinecrest Becca’s Closet chapter, the Ignite team hosted 'Donuts for Dresses’ at the school. Students who brought in dresses were given a donut in exchange.

The girls also reached out to South Forsyth High School students for donations and hosted collections at St. Brendan Catholic Church, receiving generous responses.

"I am very proud of these young ladies and all they accomplished in a short amount of time,” commented Ms. Allison Berry, Ignite Team Advisor. "I watched them learn how to develop a communications plan, motivate their classmates and their parish communities to donate dresses, work with another high school, and coordinate a large event entirely based on donations."

One customer’s mother raved, saying, “We want to say thank you to the girls. The individual attention that we had when trying on dresses was great. Although we couldn’t find a dress to fit exactly, a student suggested we take it and have it altered. We did just that and it worked out great!"

Lizzy Welsko, the Becca’s Closet Ignite team’s vice president, found the project personally rewarding, based on the reaction of those who received the dresses. "The best part of this project was watching one of the moms as her daughter tried on the dresses, because you could tell she was so grateful and happy to find a dress that her daughter truly loved,” said Welsko.

"I really enjoyed talking with each girl about her prom and just getting to know her. And of course, helping her find her dress,” commented Lily Starnes, a member of the Ignite team.

The Becca’s Closet Ignite team completed their Ignite project the weekend of April 16-17, with a prom shopping event at the City of Refuge in Atlanta, an organization dedicated to aiding residents who live in the area and providing them with tools to succeed.

"The girls set up a shopping event filled with 150 prom dresses. They were able to help several girls from City of Refuge find a dress. Between this event and after school fittings, our girls have assisted about 20 girls so far this prom season,” said Ms. Berry. “We’d like to thank everyone in our local community who donated a dress or contributed time to help our girls bring a little joy into the lives of many young ladies."

After giving prom dresses to the young ladies at the City of Refuge, the girls donated 66 dresses to Goodwill and 60 to Foster Care Support and Prom-A-Palooza.

They are keeping 44 dresses for next year, as they hope to maintain this chapter of Becca’s closet going forward by passing the project on to the next class of juniors for the 2016-2017 school year, and then beyond.

Members of this year’s Becca’s Closet Ignite team include Mary Patota, President, Lizzy Welsko, Vice President, Vanessa Mendez, Mariana Bohn, Lauren Cobak, Lily Starnes, Danielle Madda, Kayla Kiernan and Dalila Martinez.

For more information about Pinecrest Academy, visit www.pinecrestcademy.org.