Huntington High School’s Grandfriends Club recently threw its annual prom for local senior citizens and while the event had a different look and feel to it compared to tradition, it went over just as well with just as much fun for participants.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Grandfriends honed new relationships with the Town of Huntington’s senior center and Sunrise of Huntington, located on West Hills Road in South Huntington.
“Throughout the year the Grandfriends ran several activities with the seniors at Sunrise, including making personalized shadowboxes, caroling, hosting a St. Patrick’s Day party and our grand finale: the senior, senior prom,” said Huntington teacher Suzi Biagi, who serves as the Grandfriends’ faculty advisor.
The town’s senior citizens center and Grandfriends club members were in regular contact regarding numerous initiatives, including the annual free raffle for Thanksgiving day baskets and card deliveries for the holidays that were sent to seniors with their weekly meal boxes.
“For this year’s senior, senior prom, we were allowed to invite 40 local residents to the Sunrise facility for a fabulous dance,” Ms. Biagi said. “Although it made for a much smaller party than usual, there were 73 seniors in attendance in all along with 23 Huntington High School students. Fun was had by all. A band called ‘Squeaky Clean,’ which consists of a couple who between them sing and play eight instruments, was amazing. The music was unstoppable.”
A prom king and queen was selected, prom photos were taken on Sunrise’s cascading grand staircase and appealing food was provided and consumed by all. “It was a very different party for the Grandfriends, but they were amazing,” Ms. Biagi said. “The students have worked on this for months, planning and handcrafting decorations, doing digital photography to make sure that all the prom goers received their prom photo, creating handmade silk corsages for everyone and fundraising all year to pay for all the festivities. Sunrise allowed us to use their location for a venue, providing delicious food created by their fabulous chef and paying for this year‘s band, which was very much appreciated.”
The senior, senior prom is always the highlight of the year. “It was an amazing party with lots of laughter, some tears of joy and a confirmation that inter-generational relationships are right there for the taking,” Ms. Biagi said. “Next year we hope to have the dance back at the high school, but if not, we now have an opportunity to host our grand finale events at other venues.”
Grandfriends participates in intergenerational events throughout the year with a focus on the senior citizen community. It would love to receive some support from the business community. Want to get involved? Send a message to Mrs. Biagi at sbiagi@hufsd.edu.
