JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — An organization in Jacksonville is sponsoring a prom gown giveaway this Saturday.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Tau Omega Omega Chapter in Jacksonville will sponsor Prom ExtravaGOWNza. It will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Kerr Memorial Baptist Church, located at 150 L. P. Willingham Parkway in Jacksonville.
The gown giveaway is open to high school juniors and seniors on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. Participants must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and provide a current school ID card. Accessories will also be distributed.
Gowns are new and gently used and have been provided by private donors and local businesses including Unique Bee, It’z Fashion, J. Nicholson, Chica Corner, Tuck and Taylor and Sara Kait boutiques; and Brynn Marr and Bradley Jewelers; and Serenity Behavioral Health Center.
Hair and make-up tips will be provided along with a chance to receive a free cosmetology session.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated is a community service organization dedicated to “service to all mankind.” It was founded January 15, 1908 at Howard University in Washington, DC. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated is the oldest sorority founded by, but not limited, to African-American women.
Vice-President Kamala Harris, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks and Astronaut Mae Jemison, the first black woman to travel in space, are among its members. Other members include Good Morning America Host Robin Roberts and NASA mathematicians Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, for whom the 2016 feature film “Hidden Figures” is based. Johnson, Vaughan and Jackson’s efforts aided in the Space Race to put a man on the moon.
An international organization, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated has 350,000 members in more than 1,046 graduate and community chapters. The Jacksonville chapter includes 48 members.