As part of a larger senior celebration committee, the “Adopt a Senior” program allows for the BVNW community to get involved in supporting this year’s seniors. The committee is made up of 47 parents, eight of which are in charge of this particular program. One of those parents is committee member Gina Foster, mother of Senior Katelyn Foster. In creating “Adopt a Senior,” Foster said, the committee wanted to form a new experience special for this year’s seniors.

“A group of parents came together to try and come up with ideas to celebrate our seniors in alternative ways with all of the restrictions that are in place this year, knowing that the class of 2021 is really not having a traditional senior year,” Foster said. “So, adopting a senior is just one of the many ways that we’re trying to reach out to communities and support our seniors.” 

To enter into the program, the parent of each senior participating filled out an online form that placed them on a list of students to then get selected. Once a senior is chosen, Foster said they will be sent a special gift or partake in a different activity each month, provided by their community member, whose identity is hidden from the student. More than 260 seniors opted into the program, with every participating senior getting selected by a member of the BVNW community. 

Participating senior Molly Thomas said she appreciates what the program has provided for her class in this challenging year and the overall support that has come from the school. 

“It has been really nice to just receive a little gift here and there, just as a reminder that there are people out there who care about us and want us to have a good year and want to find little ways to put smiles on our faces,” Thomas said. 

Parent volunteer Kristy Shaw and mother to senior Sophie Shaw said she saw the program as an opportunity to help her daughter have a better final year of high school, and bring that same experience to the whole class.

“I just wanted to help make my senior’s year special in any way I could, because it’s hard to see my daughter so disappointed at a time in her life that she had been thinking was going to be so great and it’s just not what she had imagined,” Shaw said. “It is that way for every senior so I just wanted to do whatever I could to make these kids feel a little more special.”

Senior Brent Fallon said he appreciates the extra bit of encouragement that the program has given the class, as they near toward the end of the year. 

“With it being such a different year it was kind of nice to get a boost. Just something like a card and candy was really nice,” Fallon said.  

Outside of the seniors’ experience, “Adopt a Senior” allows for the BVNW public to get involved in supporting their school, Foster said. 

“Overall the effort is a way for the community to lift these seniors up and just show them some support and know they aren’t alone, through all of this and that we’re excited for them,” Foster said. 

Looking ahead, Shaw said the committee plans to further expand the special treatments of the graduating class to continue to show how much they mean to their school. 

“I hope it lets them know that they’re not alone. That everybody understands what they are going through in this hard time,” Shaw said.