With graduation around the corner, a Surrey student has decided to wear something different to prom: a burlap potato sack.
While other girls will wear designer dresses to the big dance, Courtney Barich’s choice is a little more rustic.
“It all started when I was [prom] dress shopping with my mom and sister,” said Barich, a student at Holy Cross Regional School. “The idea ‘you’d look good in anything’ escalated.”
Having volunteered during March in the Philippines, and witnessing extreme poverty, she decided to make a statement with her dress.
“They sleep in garbage bags and stuff,” she said. “It escalated into this whole idea of giving to others.”
Helping others has become a theme in the teenager’s life. She volunteers at the Surrey Urban Mission and gives out food on the Downtown East Side.
Barich is ditching the chiffon and sparkle dress she planned on and wearing the sack, provided she hits her fundraising goal of $10,000.
She has started her own website and Facebook campaign, titled “Courtney’s Burlap Grad,” to raise money for an orphanage in the Philippines. The website features a countdown and a link to a PayPal account to donate.
With the end of Grade 12 a significant time in a teenager’s life, Barich’s parents say they are proud of her for taking a stand on an issue close to her heart.
“She’s marched to her own drum beat so I don’t think she’ll regret it at all,” said her mother Charlotte.
“There’s lots of kids who need help and it’s one girl helping at a global level,” said her dad Joe.
Her parents helped set up the bank account needed for her charitable cause as well as finding a family friend to help design the website.
Barich and her sister plan to travel to the Philippines in the fall to present the money to the orphanage and continue volunteering.
To donate to Courtney’s cause, visit her website: Courtney's Burlap Grad
- With a report from CTV Vancouver's Norma Reid
