As seniors start thinking about graduation in June, they also start wondering where to go to celebrate after the ceremony. In Hawthorne, many of our grads will be attending Project Graduation.
This event provides a safe, drug-free, alcohol-free, supervised environment for all Hawthorne graduating seniors. The graduates are bussed from HHS right after graduation to the secret Project Graduation site. Project Graduation is an all-night celebration that ends around 4 a.m. For an affordable commitment fee, graduates can attend a fun and safe party with all of their fellow grads. “In the past, grads have enjoyed swimming, games, inflatables, sports, photos, music, give-aways, and more,” said Project Graduation parents Nicole McRae and Cheryl Siracusa. Dinner, snacks, breakfast, and transportation are also included, and no senior parents are supervising the graduation party.
Project Graduation night has been very popular. “Some of the students have been together in school since kindergarten and this gives the opportunity for the graduates to have fun together before they head off to college or whatever they plan on doing after high school,” said McRae and Siracusa.
The location for the Project Graduation site is such a big secret for safety reasons. Project Graduation is a drug-free, alcohol-free event that keeps graduates safe on what is statistically one of the most dangerous nights of their young lives. “We (the Hawthorne Project Graduation Committee and its volunteers) have a responsibility to make sure that the location is not a place that is known to the students to avoid any issues with prohibited alcohol/drugs; it also just makes it more intriguing/exciting for the grads to be shipped off to a secret location each year for an all-night, fun-filled event,” said McRae and Siracusa.
The Hawthorne Project Graduation event costs about $20,000 per year, but students pay only $35.00 (or $50.00 after March 23) which means that about 75 percent of that money is obtained through various annual fundraisers. Some include a dinner/dance, raffles, blanket sales, tag days, the proud sponsor campaign and the dodgeball tournament.
Support is always needed and appreciated, so please help to spread the word about the Dodgeball Tournament on May 2. The more money Project Graduation can make, the more likely it is that every year senior students will not have to wonder what they can do after the graduation ceremony. Project Graduation will give them a safe, drug-free, alcohol-free, supervised environment in which to celebrate.