This is Joanne Giampa, who coordinated this year's "Dry After Grad" for Riverside Secondary School. How are you?
I'm fine. How are you?
I'm good. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today.
You're most welcome. So you planned the "Dry After Grad". Would you mind explaining what that is?
A "Dry After Grad" is an event that the parents put on for the students that are graduating that year from high school, and it's an event in the hopes of keeping them safe for the evening, so that they're not out driving around and drinking. We provide lots of entertainment for them: We have a casino set up with play money and a DJ for dancing, food, lots of prizes. The main thing to keep them there the night is that the prizes are drawn at 5 in the morning, so they have to be there in order to receive their prize if their name is drawn. That way, we keep them safe and we keep them in an environment where if anything was to go wrong, we were there to look after them.
So, in saying "Dry After Grad", you're saying that they're not drinking alcohol on the night of their graduation, and getting into trouble driving and maybe injuring themselves. That's right. No drugs, no alcohol.
Right.
Yeah.
Which is kind of a common thing for teenagers to, like, enjoy the night of their graduation, so you're trying to keep them safe and away from that? That's right. So do you have any funny stories to tell about "Dry After Grad" last year? Oh, funny stories. Well, I do! My daughter went as a guest of one of the grads, and she was so excited to be coming to the after grad, and I was excited because I haven't had a child of my own attend one for a couple of years, but her date wasn't feeling too well and he was outside being ill. So, without her date, she wasn't allowed to come into the "After Grad". Was he drunk?
He was drunk.
So he was sick because he was drunk.
That's right. Was he allowed in, after having drank alcohol?
We did allow him in, because we would rather have him inside and know that he is going to be inside and have somebody that can look after him if he continues to be ill, and that he's not going to be continue to be drinking. So we did allow him in, and eventually Cheryl got in as well. However, the young man was very green-looking and he didn't last very long. He only lasted long enough to get Cheryl in the door and then they had to drive him home. So he didn't have a very good grad night because he ruined it by consuming too much alcohol and not being able to tolerate it. But we kept him safe for part of the evening. So that was a good point.
Did anything else happen that night? I hear some limos got pulled over on the highway?
That's right! They did! And they found out that the limo that was being driven wasn't to be on the road because it had the wrong kind of tail lights on it so it was illegally lit up and it didn't have a permit. It wasn't licensed to be driving. So they pulled it over, and the grads that were in that limo had to get a taxi. The police called a taxi for them, and they got taxied over to back to their homes, and then over to the "After Grad". So that was kind of embarrassing for them to be pulled over on the edge of the highway and everybody going by and seeing them pulled over there. But that was one thing that happened.
And also, there was another limo that was stopped, full of alcohol, and the police found that - all the alcohol in the limo - and they stood there and they opened all the bottles and poured out all the liquor - about $400 worth - and then they made the kids pick up all their empty bottles and put them into the garbage can. So I think a lesson was taught to them that night. That was a lot of money to lose.
Um hmm.
Yeah.
Other than that, everything went really well. The grads had a great time, there was great prizes for them, there was about five, $250 prizes and there was four $500 prizes, as well as camping gear, and beach equipment, and oh, all sorts of other things, gift certificates, etc. So they had a really good time.
I'm sure, on behalf of all the parents who have students going to that school, it's a great service that you're doing for them in keeping their kids safe and having fun that night without alcohol and putting themselves in danger, and... Thank you so much! You're welcome!
