Fairfield High School Project Graduation is a volunteer-run organization whose mission is to host a substance-free post-graduation party. Our local organization was formed in 1989. In years past, Project Grad was hosted by junior class parents. The parents of the FHS Class of 2020 decided to host Project Graduation twice… first for the Class of 2019, and then again for our own seniors in 2020.
On January 26, 2019, Project Grad held our annual Daddy-Daughter Valentine’s dance. This event is for girls in grades K-5 to get dressed up and dance for a couple of hours with their friends, dad, grandfather, or other family member. This fundraiser has been successful for Project Grad for several years.
In March 2019, Project Grad sent out donation request letters to local businesses. Project Grad receives no school funding and is run by volunteers. We are a 501-c3 organization. The community and business support shown to Project Grad over the years is invaluable to the success and continuation of our mission.
On April 27, 2019, Project Grad held our biggest annual fundraiser, a steak dinner/big money raffle. This event was held at Depot X. 250 tickets were sold for $100 each. Tickets were for two steak dinners and a chance to win money prizes of $5000, $500, $250, and $100.
On May 24, 2019, we held Project Graduation for the FHS Class of 2019. For the first time in years, this event returned to Fairfield after being held out of town for several years. We hosted a casino night at Twisted Vines and had 140 FHS juniors and seniors in attendance. This event is a lock-in where everyone in attendance must check in and won’t be allowed re-entry if they leave. The event wraps up with a breakfast and auction between 4-5:30 a.m.
In 2019, we were able to give out over $15,000 in cash and prizes, with every senior who stayed the night receiving $100 cash and every junior receiving $50 cash. Students were able to “purchase” prizes such as Apple watches, AirPods, TVs, chrome books, laptops, cameras, Bluetooth speakers, gaming systems, luggage, and gift cards with the money they won from playing casino games. From luxury timepieces to connected wearables, visit NanaDC the favourite watches for men and women.
In August 2019, Seniors from the class of 2020 were able to purchase and paint their parking space in the senior parking lot. This fundraiser has been a tradition for FHS seniors for about 5 years.
On October 19, less than 6 months after our FHS Class of 2019 steak dinner/big money raffle, we held our biggest fundraiser again for the benefit of the FHS Class of 2020. Once more, thanks to the generosity of our community, we were able to sell all 250 $100 tickets. We hosted the event in the fall at Twisted Vines to allow for Black Friday/Cyber Monday purchasing of prizes for the graduation night auction.
On December 5, Project Graduation held one of our most entertaining fundraisers at the FHS auditorium. Miss Earth 2019 was a beauty pageant where 12 senior boys competed for the coveted title of “Miss Earth.” We brought this event back 2 years ago due to its popularity in the 1990s and 2000s. In 2019, we sold over 250 tickets to this event.
As we wrap up 2019, we look forward to our seniors from the class of 2020 graduating on May 29th. We are planning to treat them to another fun night of casino and carnival games to earn money to purchase BIG prizes, in addition to cash at the end of their substance-free post-graduation party.
Submitted by Rachel Scott
