Last Minute Funds Needed for Weston High Graduation Tent

WESTON, CT --Financial restrictions struck the Weston High School outdoor graduation ceremony from the budget, so parents and students have taken the matter into their own hands. They have begun a fundraising campaign in the final days before the ceremony to acquire the $21,500 needed to rent an outdoor tent similar to what has been used in previous years.

Proponents of the outdoor ceremony began an online petition four months ago, which as of Monday morning has 526 signatures. If held in the school gymnasium, as the current plan calls for, graduates would be limited to just six tickets apiece.

Lisa Deorio, the Weston High principal, informed parents on Friday that if they could raise $21,500 by Thursday, May 17, a tent would be rented and the graduation ceremony held outside.

Proponents of an outdoor ceremony began a GoFundMe account this weekend. As of Monday morning, after just two days of fundraising began, 96 people have pledged $15,651 of the $21,500 needed.