Prom is a night that is looked forward to all year, and the weeks leading up to it are filled with hours of planning, dress shopping, tux renting and appointment making. However, for juniors and seniors who don’t attend the dance, after-prom, held at the JMU Recreation Center, is a chance for the fun of prom night to continue in a safe place.

“After-prom provides an alcohol and drug free venue filled with safe fun free activities completely planned, funded and chaperoned by parents and donations from local businesses,” after-prom Committee Chairwoman Camilla Washington said.

Lasting from midnight to 3am, this year’s After-Prom will feature similar events as last year, such as tons of food, basketball, cornhole, inflatables and a plethora of prizes, however there will also be some new additions. The committee, pending on funding, has added a giant game of Twister, Rock Climbing, mask decorating, and even more dancing.

“We still have many details to work out to be sure we can safely provide all of these options; however, the committee continues to work very hard on planning and fundraising and we would very much like to be able to provide every one of the activities we are planning,” Washington said.

Planning a night of fun-filled activities for the students has not been smooth sailing as it could be, because the committee has spent a considerable amount of time trying to brainstorm ways to increase funding for after-prom. The amount of parent volunteers and donations has been particularly low this year.

“Our biggest challenge thus far is getting support from the parents. We are desperately in need of volunteers and parent donations.  After-Prom is, traditionally, completely sponsored and funded by the parents of the junior class along with grants and donations from local businesses,” Washington said.

To overcome these challenges, the six person committee is planning on reaching out to all parents of HHS students, given that just the junior parents were not providing enough support despite requests of donations.

“A letter has been sent to parents along with several e-mail announcements requesting a $25 donation per family and volunteers to join the committee to help with planning, event preparation and chaperones, but we have had only a very few families respond to the calls for help.  We are about to make another request for assistance and are extending our request for help to all HHS parents in the hopes that we will get more participation,” Washington said.

For parents who are still looking to volunteer, the committee meets at 7pm every Thursday in the HHS Commons.

Students can get involved by purchasing their $5 tickets, spreading the word about after-prom and encouraging their parents to make a donation or volunteer in the planning process. They can also receive after-prom updates by liking and following the HHS After-Prom social media: Instagram @hhsafterprom, Facebook HHS After Prom 2015 and Twitter @hhsafterprom15.

With the extra help, Washington and the after-prom committee’s goals will hopefully be met.

“We want to make sure this year’s event is the best ever for all the students because we feel that every student deserves a great and lasting memory of their prom night.”