First East Greenwich After-Prom Expected to be a Success

Last year, a few community-minded people and members of East Greenwich Citizens who Care noticed that the town of Barrington had a successful after-prom event that attracted the vast majority of students.

They wondered — why doesn’t East Greenwich have a similar event?

A few phone calls were made. A few people met and talked. The response was remarkable.

“We’ve had an incredible response,” said Mary Louise Formisano, the chair of AfterProm EG. “We quickly learned that this community is ready.”

So far, the support has been “unbelievable,” Formisano said. There has been corporate support, donations of food and even town officials have jumped to help.

“The administration and town support would blow your mind,” she said, noting that everyone has asked what they can do to help, “whether it’s the fire chief, fire marshal, town manager and police.”

For example: the police department donated $100. Chiantis Italian Cuisine donated two trays of pasta. Silver Spoon Bakery donated 50 cake pops. Home Depot donated paint for students to make banners. Steve Filippou’s Twisted Pizza is donating 10 large pies. The list goes on and on.

The time now has come for students to pre-register to attend the May 22 event. The reason is that event planners need emergency contact information and signed waivers, since there will be a mechanical bull and other “outrageous events” on hand.

Volunteers are also needed, especially to help clean up from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m.

To volunteer, go HERE: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F084EA8A92DABF85-eghs

And it’s not just town officials, parents and volunteers working hard to get the event off the ground. Students have pitched in, designing banners, collection donations and compelling their peers to join the effort.

Formisano said that though attendance is not mandatory, the vast majority of students are expected to attend. Historically, similar events draw more than 90 percent of prom goers.

For more information, visit: http://citizenswhocareeg.org/afterpromeg.html

The event will be held at East Greenwich High School.