Above: A rainbow of prom beauties preparing for their big night in 2013. The APTO is asking for donations for prom-goers to after-party safely again this year. (Contributed photo)
This weekend is the junior prom. For many parents, that comes with worries about substance-abuse tragedy on a night that is known to be one of the most dangerous nights for teenagers.
That’s something that APTO has sought to avoid for Algonquin Proms for over twenty years.
So, how do you entice juniors not to go wild after the biggest social event of their teenage lives? Apparently by organizing a “free”, safe after-party so amazing, they can’t resist. (That’s not cheap to pull off.)
The parent-teacher association is asking for help funding it again this year. They are hoping the community answers the call.
The school’s Post Prom Party costs $15,000 to entertain more than 360 teens. The Algonquin Parent Teacher Organization informs me that they are almost $1,000 below what they need to cover the costs of this weekend’s big blast.
Here’s the APTO’s request they asked me to share:
This coming weekend is Algonquin’s Junior Prom. It will be held at Union Station in Worcester Saturday evening from 7pm-11pm. While the 2017 Steering Committee has been busy planning the Prom, the ‘after-party’ is being planned by the APTO in order to keep all the students entertained and safe.
The Algonquin Junior Post Prom Party has been a part of the history of ARHS for over twenty years. (There may be some of you that even attended this special event after prom!). Each year the APTO, along the the Post Prom Committee coordinates this substance-fee and secure party for over 360+ students.
Unfortunately, we hear about too many tragic incidents involving teenagers making poor choices, particularly around “Prom Season”. We (APTO) want to extend this special evening of high school with an event that is alcohol and drug free. More importantly, give the students more time to be together, have fun and make memories.
This year we will host our students at Forekicks in Marlboro immediately after their Junior Prom on April 30th. From midnight till 5AM we will keep them entertained with a DJ, laser tag, picture keepsakes, remote control racing, hypnotist Dan Candell, ultimate Frisbee, flag football, ‘coffee house’ music, lots of food and more! Of course all of this comes at an expense: close to $15,000 to keep the students safe and secure.
Our students are strongly encouraged to attend this event since it is FREE of charge for students. Since it’s inception we rely entirely on donations from local businesses, junior parents and community members. Each year we worry about not reaching our goal but our community has continued to support us. We are asking even those with younger children (to whom Prom seems like worlds away) to consider making a contribution towards the Post Prom Party. We all can take a roll in helping these teenagers stay safe. All of our supports will be listed in our monthly APTO Newsletter as a way of saying THANK YOU.
Many families and local businesses have been extremely generous and we are within a $1,000 of our goal.We hope this article can help us reach our goal and it will allow us to offer another fantastic night for the Prom attendees.
Please send your tax deductible donation to: Sue Distler 71 Chesterfield Road, Northboro 01532. Checks can be made payable to ARHS Junior Post Prom.
