Contributed by Michael B. Dillon
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District hosts nearly 1200 senior students enrolled during the 2020 school year. With 12 years of hard work encompassing the majority of their life experience, they are now resigned to accepting that the celebration meant to give recognition to all their efforts before facing the world as adults may never happen. Now, a group of community volunteers have come together to give these young people the proms they deserve.
When Michael B. Dillon launched a crowdfunding campaign on May 6th in the hope of raising money to organize a communal prom celebration for the Valley’s seniors, he had no idea of the reaction it would get. “It was crazy,” Dillon said. “I woke up the next day to my Facebook blowing up!” Within 24 hours, a committee had been formed composed of passionate individuals ready to move mountains in giving the class of 2020 three separate prom events. The momentum just kept building from there.
One of the first to jump on board with the project was Sara Post, Event Coordinator with the Alaska State Fair. With her help, the committee is working to schedule three separate prom events during the summer festival this year. “I’m so excited to help bring these kids the prom they deserve so much,” says Post. “This is an amazing team and their passion for this project really is contagious.” Post has worked with Dillon over the past two fair seasons in bringing the overwhelmingly popular Silent Disco to the summer festivities. “Dances work at the fair,” Dillon says. “I’ve seen it. We were at capacity every night we had the Silent Disco. They’re some of the best events I’ve ever worked.”
As an elected Spirit Representative in his highschool days, Dillon recalls the passion and effort put forth by the students themselves in planning and executing their prom bashes. Through the public Facebook group, “Forget Me Not Prom 2020”, students and volunteers are able to be an integral part in planning these festivities. All fundraisers, volunteer opportunities and progress updates will be posted to the group regularly, giving everyone the opportunity to participate in the journey.
The committee encourages everyone to take a look and join up with the social media group in order to further ensure the success of the event series. The committee is also very aware of the uncertain timeline as the global crisis continues into the summer months. Contingency plans are being developed along with the main event series to ensure that the proms happen when completely safe to do so.
“We get it,” Dillon assures us. “Nobody really knows what’s going to happen over the next couple months. We just really want to make sure we have all the planning and infrastructure laid out solidly beforehand. This is going to happen; but we know it has to be done safely and done right.”
Even with all of the amazing support through volunteering and sponsorship interest in making this event series a success, there is still the issue of the budget. Currently, the committee has active crowdfunding campaigns on GoFundMe and Facebook with a goal of raising $30K to budget all three events.
“It seems like a lot of money, I know,” Dillon says. “But one of the main goals we have here is not charging these kids to get in.”
With the tough economic times currently facing our community, the committee hopes to make every effort in easing the financial strain of prom for the students and their families. Not only will the proposed budget be used to cover the expenses of the event series itself; the committee is additionally discussing programs to assist families in some of the expenses associated with attending a formal event.
“We get it,” Dillon adds. “Families aren’t sure what’s going to happen, and prom is probably not a priority for them. We just want to make sure the opportunity is there for everyone to attend.”
If you would like to donate to the cause, or you are interested in helping to make Forget Me Not Prom 2020 a success, you can visit the websites below or contact Michael B. Dillon directly at (907)795-2366 or by email at moondogmbd@gmail.com. Any help is greatly appreciated by the Forget Me Not Prom 2020 Committee, as well as all of the hardworking young people this event series is working for.
Donate at our GoFundMe page: www.gofundme.com/f/ForgetMeNotProm2020
Or visit our Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/ForgetMeNotProm2020
