Prom is less than two months away, and planning for the dance and the event after. After Prom sponsored by Turning Point Domestic Services provides students with a new environment formed by the community. Organizing an event of this scale requires well-thought-out planning to ensure everything goes smoothly. The Director of Prevention at Turning Point, Cassie Davidson, digs deep into the regulations formed, so that After Prom can provide conditions deemed safe.
“We are going to continue with the entrance bag checks to ensure there won’t be any contraband entering the facility. Volunteers are a must,” Davidson said. “We will have volunteers supervising areas around emergency exits, high traffic areas and scattered around the general sitting areas. All students who attend After Prom must have their student IDs on them, even if they do not attend a BCSC school, for us to verify their age and class.”
Davidson also specifies how the committee plans to communicate and the estimated time when information will go out to families.
“We will share information about After Prom as soon as we get the poster finalized, which is created by students. Parent information is provided when students preregister, meaning we have the waiver of liability, confidentiality agreement, photo release, etc,” Davidson said.”
As part of a committee, members find roles that fit their interests. Freshman Charlotte Bates explores a few of her responsibilities for the After-Prom and why she chose to be a part of the committee.
“My role is to help with the presentations we give to our sponsors to convince them to donate. I also help come up with ideas to help market our after-prom party. And lastly, I go out into the public to businesses and ask them if they can donate anything, like a gift to the students that attend,” Bates said. “I chose to be on this committee because my friends suggested I do it with them, but also because I wanted to help Turning Point throw a party that had a really good cause behind it.”
Freshman Keya Goon also explains her role in detail.
“I am basically making the commercials and helping to promote after prom so I will be acting in these commercials, but I’ll also be helping with decor, and generally I just help with whatever we need to do at the meeting, like making prize packages or taping, because commercials are something I would do on my own time and get it approved,” Goon said. “I chose to join the After-Prom committee because I thought that it was fun, also it would be nice to help my community, and I chose the commercial side because I enjoy acting and I like to brainstorm creative ideas to sell a certain topic.”
In the process of correcting mistakes, Davidson elaborates on any challenges or barriers that were put in front of the committee.
“Something difficult in the past would be getting enough volunteers to stay for the latter part of the night,” Davidson said. “We are working to remedy this by asking for volunteers earlier, breaking down shifts, and having enough committee students who will help alleviate the need for adult volunteers.”
Davidson follows this up with aspects of After-Prom that have worked well and plans to carry over from past years.
“Based on student feedback, they enjoyed the free food, and that most certainly will be carried over from last year,” Davidson said. “As far as entertainment goes, you will have to show up to find out what we are doing. You won’t want to miss it.”
