La Follette students get free prom dresses

Madison-area students shopped for prom dresses free at La Follette High School on Wednesday, days before the school’s April 25 prom. (wkow.com) WKOW reported that Becca’s Closet of Beloit brought more than 1,000 dresses to La Follette for a one-day pop-up. The nonprofit provides free formalwear to high school students for prom and homecoming. (wkow.com) La Follette’s school calendar lists prom at Monona Terrace from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2026. The giveaway landed in the final stretch before that event. (lafollette.madison.k12.wi.us) Becca’s Closet says its mission is to help students attend milestone school events without the cost of formalwear shutting them out. The group was founded after Rebecca Kirtman began collecting dresses as a high school student and has since expanded through volunteer-led chapters around the country. (beccascloset.org) Prom costs can stack up fast beyond a ticket, with dresses, shoes and alterations often adding another barrier for families. Free dress drives have become a common spring model for nonprofits that collect donated formalwear and redistribute it at schools or community sites. (operationpromnationalnetwork.org; abbyscloset.org) At La Follette, the setup brought that model directly into the school building instead of asking students to travel to a separate boutique or weekend event. That can matter for students making decisions just days before prom. (wkow.com; lafollette.madison.k12.wi.us) The timing also matched a busy week on campus, with La Follette’s calendar showing school events on April 23 and no school for middle school conferences on April 24. The dress pop-up gave students one more stop before Saturday night at Monona Terrace. (lafollette.madison.k12.wi.us) For students who found a dress Wednesday, the next step is simple: prom is Saturday. (lafollette.madison.k12.wi.us; wkow.com)