Project Graduation Pulls Into Port at H-K

For the 22nd year, seniors at  will be able to enjoy a fun, safe environment after receiving their diplomas thanks to the efforts of a team of dedicated volunteers.

HK's Project Graduation will be held Tuesday night, starting at 10:30 p.m., at the HK Fieldhouse. Graduation ceremonies begin at 6:30 p.m.

Kaycee Blancaflor, who chairs Project Graduation, said she expects about 90 percent of the senior class to participate in the event.

"It offers the kids an opportunity to spend one last night together as a class," said Blancaflor. She also thanked the volunteers who worked all year long to make the event a success.

"They are a very dedicated, amazing group of people," she said. "If I didn't have my volunteers this wouldn't happen."

The theme of this year's Project Graduation is a cruise vacation and volunteers have decorated the fieldhouse to look like a ship (see photos).

The event will feature lots of entertainment, including a DJ, human foosball and a bungee trampoline, as well as food and prizes.

"Every senior will get a prize worth $50. There are two laptop computers that we will be giving away [at the end of the event]," said Sue Craffey, who has spent the past ten years organizing chaperones for the event. "These are extra incentives for the students to stay."

The event costs about $20,000 to put on. The money is raised throughout the year through fundraising activities and contributions from local businesses, organizations and individuals.

The most important goal of Project Graduation, Blancaflor and Craffey say, is to provide students with a safe place to celebrate their accomplishment. 

"It's a safe place to be and the parents know where the kids are," said Craffey, adding that since the event started there has not been a serious accident involving a student on graduation night.

Check back with Patch for photos of Project Graduation, as well as coverage of Haddam-Killingworth High School's graduation ceremony.