Two weeks ago now on May 5th, we hosted our senior prom event! The several days leading up to it I was a little nervous because I still had to make the playlist and I wanted that to be really good. The day of, we got there at about 3 o'clock to set up. We got balloons out at the entrance of the dining room, got proms set up in the photo booth, and got each of the tables set up as well. We had all of our helpers then show up at around 5:00 and we gave each of them their jobs when they did show up.
Members began showing up at around 5:20 and from there our night was off! We made our first announcements at 5:30 and then made them again every hour. Residents began eating food after that first announcement and the rest of the next hour and a half was filled with lots of talk, laughter, and music. At 7:00 we played our intergenerational prom video and it was a huge success. The residents loved how we included the question about and advice that they would give to us. After the video, the dancing and fun really got ramped up. There were lots of pictures, dancing, and piñatas after this! They really enjoyed themselves and it was really cool to see that. We finally ended at about 8:45 and then picked up after that. Overall, this year has been a very good one helping at Woodland Terrace. If there was one thing I were to change, it would be making the year longer because that's just how much I enjoyed helping there. I hope we left an impact on them, because they sure left one on us.
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Since the last blog we have been grinding out details of the prom and really gearing up for the Senior Prom event, since it is this Saturday! We got all of our sponsorship money in and totaled up, and then we added each of their logos on the prom flyers, tickets, and on the actual tables at the prom. I have been working on the intergenerational compilation video to play at the prom, that is about half done right now. I have to add a few more clips of each resident in and then have a good ending but then I will be all done with that! We are meeting Wednesday with Brad Rusche from Lifeshare (who is one of our sponsors) to go over the powerpoint we will have of the different companies sponsoring the event and residents. After this we will discuss several details with Caralee to know for Saturday and any tips and tricks she has for us on the day of the actual prom. This whole event has been such a long process, it's weird having it now be the last week of planning. This whole process has been so much fun, from making the intergenerational videos, to visiting best buddies, to now planning the Senior Prom. Hopefully the prom goes well this weekend!
These past few weeks have been crucial in the prom planning process, especially this past one. Since the last blog I have had, we have done many things to help us get more money, get everything planned for the actual prom night, and spread the word about the prom since that will be one of the several ways we reach the residents.
First, we had a meeting over spring break where we were given a $250 donation by Teresa Smith from Hoosier Hear Gear. The meeting was pretty uneventful, but we had to wait a while before our meeting which was interesting and also fun. After that, we got another donation from Lynn Fields from Sugar Creek Real Estate for $250, that was an interesting donation especially for me since I was the one to make the phone call. Besides the phone calls an donations, we also have had two meetings with Caralee at Woodland Terrace since spring break. In those meetings we have discussed ticket prices, food and drink options, had approximations of guests, and talked about including the intergenerational videos and the honor flight into the night as well. It has been a lot of fun so far and really excellent that we have got all that planning done this week. Hopefully in the next week or so we can get all of our invitations out to the residents and begin getting decorations. I am looking forward to these next few weeks! These past two seeks we have had several different meetings with businesses about them possibly sponsoring the prom with one of our several different giving levels. Our giving levels were $100, $250, and $500 and based off of those different giving amounts, they would receive different amounts of notoriety and recognition at the actual prom. That notoriety included things like being mentioned on the prom flyer, being on any postcards or specific invitations sent out, being mentioned on the intercom/PA system at the prom, and being on a running slideshow or pictures and announcements at the prom. Overall we had 4 meetings total and out of those 4 meetings 2 donated money, one scheduled a follow up meeting for next Wednesday, and the last said she would do hair and make-up for the residents for the citizens of Woodland Terrace if they approve. We also had two donations over the phone, so far we have raised $950 towards the prom. Our goal is $3,000 so obviously we aren't there yet but for just beginning the meetings a week ago, to be 1/3 of the way there is pretty good and leaves us going into spring break feeling accomplished. Now, we will continue to have meetings over spring break and gain more sponsorships while still planning different aspects of the prom as well!
Attached below is a picture of the script we used for our phone calls and also a list of our phone calls and what the end result of that call/meeting was. This past two weeks were very good ones for us at Woodland Terrace. Last week, we met back with Caralee after meeting with Cole the week before. This meeting went a lot smoother and it was good to be back with our original planning committee because we were all on the same page. In the meeting we specifically talked about helping pay for some veteran residents at Woodland Terrace. The honor flight is something the community is actively involved with and so being able to raise money through the prom to help at least one or two community members go would be great. After we got back, Jacob then called Dale True, the Chairman of the honor flight program to find out how much it costs to send one member and he found out it costs $1,000. We also helped hand out Valentines that day and this week we spent time with one member in the memory care facility. Doing both of those helped us gain a greater appreciation for everything Woodland Terrace does and helped us really know how much they care about every individual resident. Really being able to help the community and help them enjoy all of their experiences is the main goal, and so it was really cool to be able to live that out these past two weeks with both of those things.
The week before this past one is when we had our first meeting about the prom. Tyler, Jacob and I met with Caralee and several other workers at Woodland Terrace and talked about how the group before us led the prom last year and what we are going to do. We came up with several different themes such as cinco de mayo and through the decades. She gave us feedback on those ideas and then we continued to talk about possible dates, food options, sponsorship options, and projected attendance. Overall, it was a very good first meeting about the senior prom! This is an event that we have been looking forward to all year and it's pretty cool being able to start planning it now.
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