Students at Polk County Early College had a chance Wednesday to step into the spotlight on regional television.
WSPA-TV paid a visit to PCEC for a segment on the school’s upcoming Becca’s Closet dress giveaway. It marks the fourth year that PCEC students have taken part in the initiative, started to honor a Florida teen-ager who died in an automobile accident in 2003.
That student, Rebecca Kirkman, originated the idea of a program to help provide prom dresses and accessories for students who could not afford to purchase them. That mission lives on through Becca’s Closet.
Polk County Early College is one of two Becca’s Closet chapters in North Carolina. There are no chapters in South Carolina.
PCEC students Amberly Arkell and Cash McFarlane stepped in front of the camera on Wednesday morning to talk about the dress giveaway that will begin Thursday at PCEC.
More than 400 dresses are available through the Becca’s Closet program, with roughly 90 percent of those dresses being new and never worn. PCEC has sizes ranging from 0-26, and staff and students keep track of each style that has been sold at a specific school (though no names) in order to help prevent two students from showing up at the same event in the same dress.
PCEC will open its doors from 3-8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday for those wanting to view and obtain dresses. The giveaway is open to students at any school.
“We feel like, for the Early College, it’s important to give back to the community,” said Mary Greene, Early College director.
PCEC students have set up an Instagram account, pcec_dressdrive, to share photos of available dresses. A second giveaway is planned for the spring.
