By Andrew DeCredico
When students at Ocean City High School’s Prom were finished up with festivities at The Flanders Hotel, parents and community members hosted an After Prom to keep them safe and out of trouble. The event was held at the high school. Over 500 students attended the After Prom’s all-night party, which is meant to promote creating fabulous memories together – free from drugs and alcohol.
Each year around October members of the community come together and plan an After Prom to keep the children safe when they are finished dancing. The planning starts in late fall and continues to take shape all the way up until the event kicks-off. Dozens of volunteers help to make the high school into a magically different atmosphere for the children. This year the theme was “Boots and Bling”, which was a country western theme.
Many volunteer members worked tirelessly on setting-up the school for the event. It had to take a long time to create the countless props, gather the lights, and then set everything up properly. Once everything was ready, the volunteers don’t get to sit back and relax. They continued to work through the evening, along with the help of over 150 more volunteers to put on a party that lasted all-night.
As mentioned above, after prom is dedicated to keeping the students of Ocean City High School free of the temptations that this special night often leads to. Underage drinking and drug use are huge issues around the country and they are especially prevalent in the post-prom hours leading through the next day. Members of the Ocean City community have decided that the best way to keep children from these temptations is to throw them a party that lasts all night!
This years After Prom was a blast for the kids. They relaxed with their friends, listened to music, played games, and won all kinds of cool prizes! They had plenty to do. Like ride the mechanical bull or go into a photo booth. Games like mini golf, milk the cow, or cowboy ring toss were available to win tickets which were exchanged for prizes.
Inflatables were also a huge part of the entertainment at After Prom. They raced through an obstacle course, and there was a bridge crossing made of giant inflatables. As for prizes, things like surfboards, kayaks, drones, and dorm room sets were among the countless prizes that the students took home.
The event was completely funded through donations and every single prize was given by the community in an effort to keep the children safe. This year $25,000 in prizes and cash was donated by the community to provide the after prom planning committee with as many resources as they needed to ensure that the students were kept out of trouble for the night.
Overall this years After Prom was a huge success and the planning committee would like to thank the community for its endless investments of time and resources to help make this year’s After Prom a night for the class of 2017 to remember. An event like this year’s would not be possible without the support of the Ocean City High School community, or the countless other generous supporting businesses and charitable minded organizations beyond Ocean City.
Below are a few additional pictures from the event:
