April 2, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
It truly has been a Good Friday for the DCHS Class of 2021
During a three hour WJLE radiothon which was also LIVE streamed on the DCHS 2021 Project Graduation facebook page, the community rallied in support of the class with pledges and donations totaling $10, 593 for the 2021 Project Graduation event which will be held following the graduation ceremonies on Friday, May 14.
Although the fundraiser didn’t top last year’s record breaker of $11,609, it did exceed the $10,000 goal.
The radiothon was hosted by DCHS Teacher Chris Vance and many members of the class and their parents took part in the program either on air or from behind the scenes. A special thanks to Jordan Atnip and Daniel Leslie who set up the LIVE facebook streaming broadcast from the WJLE Studios which was telecast on the DCHS 2021 Project Graduation facebook page and shared by others.
Shan Stout, Co-President of the Project Graduation Committee, said the group could not have been more pleased with the outcome of the radiothon.
“I’m not shocked that the community stepped up again. We know we have one of the most giving counties that I have ever seen. After the giving started it did not stop and we went all the way to the 12 o’clock hour and raised $10,593. We were just floored at all of the people, businesses, and organizations who all reached out and with all the hilarious challenges. It was just a lot of fun,” said Stout.
To add extra fun and excitement, members of the class and parents agreed to gulp down sardines, spoonfuls of baby food, eat marshmellows while talking, and a few even took a pie in the face to meet the challenges from callers in order to up the ante..
“We did a wheel of unusual challenges so if you donated $50 you could select a senior or a parent on our committee to be part of the challenge and it included everything from eating sardines to baby food. They also did marsh mellows and all kinds of fun stuff and we had churches who challenged other churches to step up and donate, county officials challenging city officials, and then we had one of our city aldermen give gift cards so if you were the next caller you got a gift card from a restaurant for a donation. There were just a lot of fun things going on,” said Stout.
In addition to the radiothon, other fundraisers have been held for Project Graduation throughout the year.
“We did a facebook donation campaign. We also did tee shirts and that raised over $3,000 which helps every senior get a tee shirt for Project Graduation. Saturday, April 3 we will have a car show starting at 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the high school. Go to our facebook page and look up all the information for that. We have just tried everything we could to give these seniors a fantastic opportunity for a safe night on graduation” she said.
Project Graduation is an all night drug-free, alcohol-free graduation party for members of the DCHS Class of 2021 committed to having a safe, wholesome, yet entertaining celebration together for the last time as a class. This year’s event will be held at the County Complex from 10 p.m. May 14 to 6 a.m. the next morning, Saturday May 15.
“Its all about keeping our kids safe. Prom and graduation nights are perhaps the two most perilous times for teenagers to be on the road. We worry about what they are doing, where they are, and about them being safe. Project Graduation gives every senior an opportunity to spend not only one last night with their friends that they have graduated and spent their whole high school career with but we know that they are safe. It is drug free, alcohol free, and every kid goes home with prize money. It helps them have that first little foot of financial freedom and it gives them a little money for books, gas, and spending money as they get ready to go to college, trade school, or maybe they need a uniform in starting a new job. These kids appreciate that first little boost,” Stout said.
If you missed your chance to make a pledge during the radiothon you may still donate at the DCHS 2021 Project Graduation facebook page.
“Thank you so much. We are so very grateful because every dollar matters,” said Stout