By Lucy Blue
16 year old Rebecca Kirtman had been a successful student and a caring friend to those around her.
Then, suddenly, she lost her life during a tragic automobile accident on August 20, 2003.
Becca had been an active and charitable member in her community, and saw a need for a certain kind of charity in high schools.
Becca didn’t want anyone to be unable to attend their prom because they couldn’t afford to go, so she began a dress drive her freshman year at Nova High School in Davie, Florida, to provide prom dresses to girls who didn’t have the money to purchase them.
She donated over 250 dresses during her Sophomore year in high school, and Becca’s Closet has continued collecting and donating dresses since her passing.
Becca’s parents organized Becca’s Closet in memoriam of their daughter’s efforts, and in honor of her community outreach during her brief time with them.
Over the summer, Tuscarora became a chapter of Becca’s Closet.
“One thing we always try to do is have more community outreach stuff for the student body to where AVID can be more of a resource than just seen as a class,” said AVID teacher Mr. Barry Blair.
“We beieved in [Becca’s story], and we believed in helping out people. We don’t want anybody to miss out on the whole experience [of prom]. They miss out on enough, and prom is one of those happy times of memories you don’t forget.”
“We’ve talked to the counselors, so if the students feel free to talk to their counselors and say ‘Oh it’s so expensive I don’t know if I can go,’ then we do have brand new dresses. We have quite a few donations from Macy’s.”
Senior Anissa Boissiere is the AVID student who had emailed Mr. Blair, making him aware of Becca’s Closet.
“I started looking for scholarships, and also looking for a dress, and I found Becca’s Closet,” said Boissiere.
She has been an active member of the student body, having been the speaker for the Black History Month assembly last year and being the director of the assembly this year.
Her favorite part of Becca’s Closet is the excitement of receiving donations and giving back to people.
AVID collects prom dresses for Becca’s Closet all throughout the year. They currently have about 170 dresses collected, and they are hoping that next year they will have enough dresses to open up Becca’s Closet to all Loudoun County high schools.
“We’ve received donations from Reston and D.C., so now we’re just trying to expand it and spread the word,” said Boissiere.
For more information on
Becca’s Closet, visit
