Finneytown AfterProm: 2023

I didn’t post the “Weekly Learn” this week as my weekend was completely and totally consumed by the Finneytown AfterProm. As such, I’m dedicating a post to the fantastic Finneytown Community and the kids who partied hard (but safely). I love the neighborhood where we decided to put down roots. AfterProm captures all the many ways of growing your kids (and friendships) in a village.

Wrestling

Wrestlers. AfterProm.

On a whim, I volunteered to co-chair AfterProm last year with the most excellent Angie Becksfort. This year was my turn to run the gig and, I think, it went pretty well.

What is AfterProm?

It’s a safe event for kids after the prom. Rather than heading to your friends’ house and having a bonfire and other questionable activities, you hang at the high school and dance, play games, eat good food, and win prizes. As a parent volunteer, the goals are:

  1. Love the kids by serving them
  2. Have fun
  3. Create awesome memories
  4. Practice community
  5. Prevent drug and alcohol use
  6. Prevent other shenanigans

All in all, we succeeded!

What’s Involved in AfterProm?

Quite a bit. But on game weekend, it involves:

  1. Decorating the High School in a theme. This year was “Travel Around the World”. This is a rather large task.
  2. Running rooms with varying activities.
  3. No sleep.
  4. Tearing down the High School decorations

The more folks who volunteer, the faster all these action items go. And this year we had a really solid group. We were fast.

What will the future bring?

A lot. I hope. A community continually ages and grows. I look forward to bringing new families and groups into the volunteer fold. I love talking to the “elders” who ran AfterProm in years past. There are many memories. We continue to add to them.

This is a roundabout way of saying if you’re reading this post on social media and live in my neighborhood, consider signing up to help next year!

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