On Friday, May 1st, Bernards High School hosted the eighth annual Intergenerational Prom. Over 100 senior citizens come each year, and this year there were a lot of guests. The Key Club organizes this event, and many student and community volunteers showed up to help. According to Ms. Hegedus, the Key Club advisor, “Each year the club does fundraising throughout the year, decides on a theme, creates decorations, and sets up the day of the prom. At prom, the students are the host and they serve the food and dance with senior citizens all night. Mr. DiGioacchino, a SHSD board member, assists in the process as well. He is one of the leading roles in making Intergenerational Prom happen.”
The Key Club and other volunteers have been preparing for months to organize this event by posting signs advertising the event, making decorations, and fundraising at The Station Restaurant in Bernardsville. Every year, the organizers come up with a different theme, and this year, “the theme is Hollywood. We will have a red carpet, balloons, stars, top hats, and streamers. There will also be the famous ‘Hollywood’ sign and pictures of famous people of Hollywood.” said Ms. Hegedus before the event.
The event met those descriptions. According to Ms. Hegedus, “It went very well. Everyone had a good time. Everything went to plan.” To make this happen, supervisors, members of Key Club, and additional volunteers all set up for hours, from after school until it started at around 6 pm, and then they stayed to help clean up after all the guests left. There was a balloon entrance at the front, with a red carpet for the guests to enter on. Each table was set with white table clothes, glitter, hat centerpieces, etc. There were stars and signs posted on the walls.
The senior citizens seemed to have a good time; enjoying their meals, dancing, taking photos in front of the backdrop, and winning prizes of gift certificates to local restaurants. As to whether this event will continue in future years, Ms. Hegedus said that “The Key Club will host Intergenerational Prom for as long as the seniors attend it.”
