Local Becca's Closet coordinator reflects on 2022

SEMO Prom Mothers, a chapter of the national organization Becca's Closet, occasionally makes the mothers of young women cry.

But they aren't tears of sadness. Mothers weep when they see their daughters in their first prom dress. Oftentimes, these are mothers who could not afford a dress for their own prom. Seeing their child so attired moves them deeply.

Volunteer coordinator Brenda Randolph doesn't mind making mothers weep when it comes from happiness.

"When you see the mom, you know how appreciative they are," she said. "That's when you know that you've done a good thing."

High school students from all over the state, sometimes neighboring states, keep SEMO Prom Mothers busy. Sometimes, girls come from towns so far away that Randolph has to look them up on a map.

"The word is out. They come from all over," Randolph said.

As long as a young woman is accompanied by an adult, shows a school ID and uses the clothing for a school-sponsored event, the dress is free and hers to keep.

The service is opened by appointment only, and each 1-hour opening must be staffed with a local volunteer. Westminster Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church form the core group that keeps the operation running and the volunteer "deployments" flowing.

Randolph described a strict standard of excellence.

"We don't put out the junk. We don't offer the outdated. They have to be clean. They have to be modern," Randolph said.

The organization even offers heels and accessories.

Randolph recalled living in northern Missouri when a teenage girl in Florida first founded Becca's Closet, in the early 2000s. Although Randolph was freshly retired and had only sons, the project seemed like a good idea.

"Our church then was kind of looking for an identity, like the Catholics have with their church dinners. We had about 20 people in our church, and we were thinking, 'What can we bring to the table?' That's when we read about Becca's Closet in a magazine and I said, 'We can do this!'"

By the time she moved to Southeast Missouri, Randolph's project was flourishing and outgrowing its original space.

"I just feel that God sent this mission to me, because it's still going there even as it's growing by leaps and bounds here," she explained.