THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 19, 1996 TAG: 9604180168
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 208 lines
KAREN TAYLOR AND Connie Barnhart want Green Run High's class of '96 to party all night on graduation.
The two moms want the seniors to stay out until dawn.
They want the new grads to stagger home, exhausted after a night of WILD, CRAZY and . . . SAFE fun.
Parents will do just about anything for their kids. Especially when they think their children's lives are at stake. Graduation night is notorious for wild sprees of drinking, driving and partying, but parents in Virginia Beach labor all year to change that.
The alternative is all night alcohol/drug-free graduation parties, where graduates are locked into a recreation center at 11 p.m. and can't leave until 5 a.m. The parties are like huge coed sleepovers, only without the pajamas, the sleep and the booze.
It's a gala goodbye to high school. In a festive carnival atmosphere - the result of months of intensive planning and fund raising by parents - graduates swim, bowl, eat, play racquetball, dance, leap onto a Velcro wall, get a fake tattoo, try their luck in a casino, play miniature golf. They win prizes - hundreds of pizzas, T-shirts, burgers, mugs, movie tickets and also bigger prizes such as mountain bikes and CD players. Many schools have cash drawings throughout the night - handing out prizes of $50, $100 and even more.
Instead of partying till they puke, these alcohol-free soirees guarantee that the kids will party till they pass out from sheer exhaustion.
And that's the idea. Parents, such as Taylor and Barnhart, who organize these parties do so in the hope that the attendees have so much fun they don't even think about drinking. And even though graduation is still almost two months away, these parents have been working since last September on their projects. Celebrate Life City-Wide/Virginia Beach, a group of concerned citizens that helps parent groups organize these parties, was formed five years ago in response to increasing concern over students' use of drugs and alcohol to celebrate graduation and prom night.
``The two highest risk nights are graduation and prom,'' said Marion Wall, an executive member of the organization. ``Teenagers think they're invincible that night, that nothing can hurt them. These celebrations are so good. The kids are safe at these parties and can't drink and drive.''
But these all-night parties are not cheap. They're not even moderately priced.
Parents are looking at a $10,000 price tag, sometimes more, to put on a really big shewwww - one worthy of attendance by finicky teens. Money that has to be raised in advance and usually by the parents. Most call it a labor of love.
That's a lot of candy bars, pretzels and submarines to sell. Just ask Taylor and Barnhart, organizers of Green Run High's party.
The figure $10,000 has been staring them in the face all year.
They see it in their dreams. Or nightmares. They're the new kids in the graduation party fund-raising circuit and even though they've been on the bandwagon since September trying to get this party together, they have only come up with $2,000.
The games will cost $1,580. Rental of the Princess Anne Recreation Center runs $600. Printing 250 T-shirts will cost $1,500. Decorations will be another few hundred dollars. Then there's the disc jockey. A casino. Food. Prizes. Raffles. The list - and the need for more money - seems endless.
Barnhart and Taylor have single-handedly taken on every aspect of the party, from planning and organizing to fund raising. They sell chocolate bars, $1 each, every day after school and even set up a stand in front of Kmart. In December they sold poinsettias. A citywide fashion fling in February, where they and other graduation party organizers sold used formal wear, earned a few hundred dollars for Green Run. Lately they've been going door to door in the business community to solicit for donations and prizes. McDonald's offered to hold a Green Run night with 20 percent of the profits going to the effort.
Putting on this party on June 9 has become a full-time job for this dynamic duo. What's ironic is that both of their sons are sophomores and can't attend the seniors-only gala. It was ``very hard'' to get senior parents involved this year, Taylor said.
``We didn't realize how time-consuming this would be or how much is involved,'' admitted Taylor, whose son, T.J., is 16. She also has a 19-year-old daughter, Jennifer. ``But this is in my blood - I'm having such a good time with this. We're hoping that by the time our kids are seniors we'll really have a party.''
ALL NIGHT ALCOHOL/DRUG-FREE parties have been around locally since 1991, a year before Celebrate Life City-Wide/Virginia Beach was formed. The organization is comprised of a representative from each high school, five executive board members and three members on an advisory committee.
``We started City-Wide because we wanted to get the schools working together and not in competition with each other,'' Wall said. ``Everybody is so gung ho on sports and winning.
``These celebrations are so good and each party is different.
``When I was in school, the bad things were spitballs and water pistols,'' said Wall in her broad New Jersey accent. ``Now it's guns and knives. We don't want them to drink and drive. It's phenomenal what these parties do - it's the last big fling for classmates and can be a starting board for their 10-year reunion.
``Yes, they're a lot of work but it's love and life for your child,'' she added.
Parent organizers at all the schools work hard on their parties - with varying degrees of success. Kellam parents seem to have hit on a sure-fire fund-raiser. They reportedly have the most money to spend. Two dedicated moms, Susan Whitesell and Nancy Martin tolerate the smoky atmosphere of Witchduck Bingo every Friday night to run a bingo game. The proceeds from that weekly game finance Kellam's party.
That funding enables Kellam to give lots of college scholarships and to provide really cool prizes at its party. About 75 percent of the graduating class attends the party, more than some schools. The norm is 50 to 65 percent.
``We are in a very unique situation at Kellam,'' said Whitesell. She and Martin are kindergarten teachers at Salem Elementary. ``We do it (work bingo) because we love our kids and want them to be safe. We want them alive and well.''
The women are also lending their expertise to the party newcomers at Green Run. In addition to giving advice on fund raising and soliciting donations, Kellam is donating its decorations and leftover food to Green Run. Kellam's party will be held the night before Green Run's at Princess Anne Recreation Center. Recreation centers and the YMCAs are the most popular places to hold the parties.
Kempsville High keeps its graduates in the dark until the very last minute, when they board a bus to their destination. In the past they've gone to the Officers Clubs at Dam Neck and Oceana. This year they're having a hard time raising the $15,000 they say they need for their party, according to party chairman Loretta Brochu.
``Small businesses aren't doing as well as they were before,'' said Brochu, whose son, Steven, is graduating this year. ``We're going to try to sell Tides tickets. If we sell $500 worth of tickets, we get $2 per ticket.''
KEMPSVILLE AND COX WERE THE first schools to hold these all-night get-togethers locally, according to Wall. This year, all high schools except the still new Ocean Lakes are having them. Ocean Lakes principal Jerry Deviney said that they'll probably have one next year.
``The building of a senior class community is taking us a little time,'' he said. ``We've had two very small senior classes. It takes a tremendous commitment from parents and that hasn't developed at this point.''
Parental involvement is the key to launching these bashes. City-Wide holds workshops each month, starting in January, on topics such as decorations, activities and security and cleanup. The police auxiliary provides free security for the parties and the sheriff's work crew cleans up after each one.
At Kellam, about 75 parents help out that entire night - yes, even until 5 a.m. But Nancy Martin said that they have so much fun they don't even need infusions of coffee to keep them awake.
``We're not tired one bit,'' she said. ``We walk the floors there all night long. The kids are so busy they don't even know we're there.''
The executive members of City-Wide travel to the different parties every year, starting at 11 p.m. and staying for an hour at each one until about 4 a.m.
``Yeah, we do that three nights in a row,'' Wall said, laughing. ``That's why this is my last year. I'm getting too old for this!''
Students don't have to lift a finger to help. All that's required of them is their appearance at the party. But that's the whole idea. It's hard to entice teenagers to come to what might be considered a nerdy party instead of drinking somewhere with their friends. And if they show up drunk, the parents are called. If they leave before 5 a.m., their parents are called, too.
That's why parents try to get great prizes to give away, like stereos, color televisions, CD players, 10-speed bikes - even cars. The prizes and activities are supposed to ensure that the graduates aren't missing out on anything. Karen Taylor and Connie Barnhart are going to try to give away a prize every 15 minutes.
``If I got a donated car I would have every senior in Green Run at the party,'' declared Taylor. ``I really think kids are going to enjoy this. Our goal is to get half the class there. But if only 50 show up, that's 50 who aren't in danger.
``If we save one kid, we've done our job.'' MEMO: For information on helping or donating money or prizes to an all-night
alcohol- and drug-free graduation party in Virginia Beach, call the high
school of your choice.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo on the cover
Parents raising money now to help seniors stay out all night - at
alcohol free graduation bashes.
Staff photos by CHARLIE MEADS
Green Run seniors Myron Bartko, left, and Shalon Haith build a
bulletin board for the school's graduation party to be held at the
Princess Anne Rec Center on June 9.
Karen Taylor, left, and Connie Barnhart (also pictured on the
cover), parent organizers of the Green Run High graduation party,
show off the Stallion flag that was flown at a McDonald's restaurant
during a recent fund raiser.
Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Kellam parents Nancy Martin, left, and Susan Whitesell are
graduation-party organizer veterans who have volunteered their
services to help Green Run parents provide a party for their
seniors.
Staff file photos
ABOVE: First Colonial graduates gather in the ``Winners Circle''
where they could redeem ``casino cash'' for a variety of prizes and
received door prizes like TVs and microwaves that were awarded
hourly.
LEFT: Cox graduate Corey Brookover prepares for a fierce pseudo-sumo
wrestling match, one of the many activities that include swimming,
bowling, racquetball, dancing and miniature golf.
BELOW: Graduates play the roulette wheel during casino activities at
a Cox graduation party. Parents say the parties can cost $10,000 or
more to put on.
by CNB