Va. High School Plans Prom to Benefit Cancer Research

Freedom High School scales back for charity

A high school in Loudoun County, Virginia, plans to throw a prom with a message this year.

While the students at Freedom High School in South Riding still plan for a fun party, they are scaling back in exchange for giving back.

“We were just bouncing themes around and we had the idea of a charity ball, and it took off from there,” Junior Class President Bobby Doherty said.

The money saved and generated from ticket sales will go to pediatric cancer research.

“It’s not just the tradition of the prom; it’s something more than that,” said Jennifer Scott, whose daughter Elizabeth is a Freedom High freshman battling Leukemia and too sick to set foot in the school.

The students asked Principal Doug Fulton if they could host prom in the gym.

“I said, ‘One thing is we have to get back the deposit from the Dulles Hilton,’ and the hotel was great,” Fulton said. “They gave the deposit back, and that became the seed money for that first amount of money that we’ll be able to donate.”

They found sponsors to help prepare a five-star dinner. Teachers and staff will pitch in as waiters and valets.

“I think what we’re doing here right now is going to continue on for many years and hopefully inspire schools across the country to do the same,” Senior Class President Vivek Ramakrishnan said.

“They’ll remember what their prom was about,” Fulton said. “They’ll remember what they did.”

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