Students will arrive at an undisclosed location shortly after the graduation ceremony.
Each year, graduating Moorestown High School seniors enjoy one last hoorah with their friends at the school’s annual Project Graduation event. Held at a different undisclosed location each year, typically 90 percent of more of the graduating class attends Project Graduation.
“It’s a nationwide event that started as a response to a bunch of kids getting injured or killed because of alcohol use and drug use,” Moorestown High School Project Graduation chair Lisa Dadino said. “It has become an annual community-sponsored event to basically keep the high school graduates safe and alcohol- and drug- free.”
This is Project Graduation’s 29th year in Moorestown. In the past, MHS Project Graduation locations have included aquariums, bowling alleys and arcades.
To raise money for the event, the committee writes letters to businesses in town asking for sponsorships, sells Class of 2017 lawn signs and holds an annual fine dining raffle. Each attending student is asked to donate $10, but the fee is not required.
“We never turn anyone away,” Dadino said. “The event wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t for donations.”
The Project Graduation committee also sends emails to MTPS parents with children as young as kindergarten age to garner funds and spread awareness of project graduation.
Fundraising efforts start nearly a year before Project Graduation takes place, so it’s a continuous effort. Official planning starts in the fall.
Project Graduation originally began in 1980 in Oxford Hills, Maine in response to several substance-related deaths that occurred on graduation night. Moorestown High School Project Graduation is meant not only to keep students safe, but also to serve as a reminder that kids can have fun without drugs and alcohol.
Graduating seniors leave directly after their graduation ceremony, which takes place on Thursday, June 22 this year, on buses where they are entertained with various activities, prizes and food and remain at a location through the night, returning the following morning, tired but happy.
“It’s an awesome event that it just keeps them on their toes the entire night,” Dadino said. “When they come back to the high school, they are completely exhausted and just have had such a great night with their friends. It’s so worth it.”
With more than 350 students graduating this year, Dadino is hoping each and every one of them will attend Project Graduation.
Friends and family members of graduates are invited to gather on Main Street after graduation to see the seniors off, a tradition that started just a few years ago.
“Community members and siblings and family members can all line up,” Dadino said. “The kids on the bus as well as the kids in the street love that.”
For more information or to donate to project graduation, visit www.mhsprojectgraduation.com. To inquire about volunteering, email Dadino at ldadino@comcast.net.
