Parents and community members are asked to help keep graduating
seniors safe and sober by attending a meeting of the Safe and Sober
Grad Night Committee tonight.
Parents and community members are asked to help keep graduating seniors safe and sober by attending a meeting of the Safe and Sober Grad Night Committee tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the board room at Mid-State Mutual Insurance, 650 San Benito Street, suite 650.
Although the group is already planning this year’s San Benito High School Safe and Sober Grad Night, committee members are looking for residents to help.
SBHS’s event is one of few high school sober graduation nights that does not charge students to participate, said co-chairperson Cheri Schmidt
“Because we do not charge, we depend on the community to help out a lot,” said Schmidt, who chairs the event with her sister-in-law Cathy Schmidt.
Safe and Sober Grad Night is held at the Hollister Elks Lodge the night of the SBHS graduation ceremony. Doors open at 9 p.m. and students stay until 5 a.m. The goal is to decrease the amount of drinking by graduates.
“I think we need a place for these kids to go on grad night,” Cheri Schmidt said. “It will be the last time they’ll all be together until their class reunion. Parents can feel safe.”
This year’s theme is “Survivor,” like the reality-TV show, and will feature various challenges for graduates to compete in for prizes.
Even though the committee has been meeting since October, new volunteers are still welcome to help with planning, decorating, working at the event, finding volunteers and donations for giveaways and clean-up. Cathy Schmidt said the group wants to spread out each committee member’s responsibilities so no one is overwhelmed.
Graduation ceremonies for the SBHS class of 2003 will be held Friday, June 13. Schmidt said that makes it easier for adult volunteers to work at Safe and Sober Grad Night because they won’t have to go to work the next day, unlike past years when graduation was held on a Thursday.
“If they (the students) can survive that and Sober Grad Night, they have nothing to worry about with Friday the 13th,” Schmidt said.
About 275 graduates participated last year, Schmidt said. She said there are 490 students in the class of 2003 and the committee would like 75 to 80 percent student participation.
Both co-chairs said it would be beneficial for parents who have younger high school students to get involved now so the committee has some experience on it instead of starting out new every year.
“Why should we have to reinvent the wheel every year?” Cheri Schmidt said.
For more information, call Cheri Schmidt at 637-5824.
