Project Graduation is a drug and alcohol free celebration provided to Burlington Township High School graduates through a year’s worth of fundraising by the Burlington Township Foundation.
As Ben Siboczy, Shawna Cognigni and Michele Radcliff laughed and placed a flock of plastic flamingos on the front lawn of a Burlington Township home, the trio agreed the experience of working on the Burlington Township Foundation has been a special one.
The three parents of Burlington Township High School seniors are volunteers on the Project Graduation Committee. Project Graduation is an annual drug- and alcohol-free night of activities for Burlington Township High School’s graduating seniors. This year’s Project Graduation festivities will be held at the the Funplex, an amusement and water park in Mt. Laurel, following the high school’s graduation ceremony on June 20.
The Project Graduation Committee is a subset of the Burlington Township Foundation — a nonprofit that raises funds to benefit education, athletics and the arts at Burlington Township schools. Project Graduation is one of the culminating events of the nonprofit’s yearly fundraisers.
Greg Komiskey, gaming treasurer of the Burlington Township Foundation, said the foundation was started to fundraise for the projects the district wanted but could not support financially.
“It’s always been the school district’s feeling that they need to have that safe opportunity to celebrate,” Komiskey said.
As the father to three children, Siboczy said he knows some students go wild after graduation, and the temptation to drink is high.
“I worry about some of the pressure that kids put on each other,” Siboczy said.
Project Graduation provides students with an opportunity to have one last celebration with their friends in a safe environment, according to Siboczy, who is the 2017 committee president. Cognigni said students still get to have fun late into the night, and parents can rest easy knowing their children aren’t out being tempted to drink or do drugs.
“It keeps them safe through the night,” Cognigni said.
Siboczy said in his experiences with his two oldest children, the seniors who have attended Project Graduation have enjoyed the experience. He said the night is a good balance for the students of being away from their parents and out of the confines of the school while still having one final hurrah with their classmates.
Radcliff said the cost of busing students, renting the Funplex and other expenses total around $30,000. Fundraising has been a year-long process, Siboczy said.
This year’s committee began fundraising for Project Graduation at the high school’s 2016 graduation ceremony. Committee members handed out water bottles to graduation attendees in exchange for donations.
One year later, the foundation has continuously worked to hold fundraisers including a comedy show night, raffling off Phillies’ tickets, selling graduation signs for lawn display and working with restaurants to put on fundraising dinners.
The committee’s current fundraiser is “flocking.” Burlington Township residents can pay to have a flock of pink flamingos placed on a friend’s lawn. For every $10 donated, 10 birds will appear with up to 50 birds available for display.
Radcliff said committee members have snuck around like thieves in the night secretly planting flamingos on Burlington Township lawns. “Victims of flocking” receive a note explaining the flocking is done in good spirit and thanking them for having a sense of humor.
The flamingos can roost on a victim’s lawn for up to 48 hours before being moved, but those who wish to have them picked up sooner can ask to have them removed. Siboczy, Cognigni and Radcliff agreed that all the homeowners have taken their flocking with a laugh.
Thus far, the flockings have raised around $1,000, but members of the school district community can pay for flockings until the day of graduation. Three sets of flamingos are out on any given day.
Siboczy said the day after graduation, he will have the flock boxed and deliver them to give to the 2018 Project Graduation Committee president.
To donate to Project Graduation, visit http://www.burltwpfoundation.org.
