CUMMING—As the costs of prom top $1,000, Pinecrest Academy students began a local chapter of Becca’s Closet (beccascloset.org), a national organization that provides formal dresses to those who may not be able to afford them.

Beginning in February, prom dress donations were accepted at the school. Young ladies shopping for dresses were invited to visit the campus to select a dress from the collection. They were able to choose from about 150 dresses donated by members of Pinecrest and the local community. It was a project of the school’s “Ignite” initiative, a program of Christian service to help students develop servant leadership through projects focused on corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

To collect dresses, the Ignite team hosted “Donuts for Dresses” where students who brought in dresses to donate were given a doughnut in exchange. The girls also reached out to South Forsyth High School students for donations and hosted collections at St. Brendan the Navigator Church, in Cumming.

The Becca’s Closet Ignite team finished their project recently, 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 project helped about 20 girls with prom expenses. Prom costs a family an average of $1,139, according to a Visa study.

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

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.