On June 6 and 7 approximately 1,100 high school seniors and their guests participated in Project Graduation, an alcohol- and drug-free celebration held on graduation night for the graduating seniors from Calvert, Huntingtown, Northern and Patuxent high schools. Project Graduation is an important event in Calvert County, as it provides the county’s graduating seniors an opportunity to celebrate graduation in a safe environment with their classmates and guests. This event reduces the chance of crashes involving our youth on one of the most important nights of their lives — graduation.

This year our schools had access to the Drill Hall at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, the Gym at St. Mary’s College and Dave and Busters at Arundel Mills Mall. It was a long two nights for many, but well worth the sleepless hours to make sure our teens had an enjoyable and safe night. Project Graduation, which is sponsored by the Calvert Alliance Against Substance Abuse Inc. (CAASA), has been keeping our students safe for the past 25 years.

An event this large takes place on two different nights at four different locations and requires many volunteers, and CAASA’s Board of Directors would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their volunteer efforts and donations of time and resources. From the Project Graduation coordinators in the schools, chaperones, the support of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office and Maryland State Police, the bus drivers and bus contractors who donate their time and use of their buses, Calvert County Public Schools’ Transportation Office, to the Optimist Clubs of Calvert and Solomons that provide the refreshments for the students, we offers our sincere gratitude for your constant support. Some of our volunteers have been helping with Project Graduation for 25 years and we offer them a special thank you for hanging in there and supporting the program. The generosity of all of our volunteers is appreciated.

In addition, I’d like to thank the many local businesses that provide financial support for this event by sponsoring CAASA’s Annual Comedy Invasion for Project Graduation and the Night Golf tournament. With a price tag of $32,000, we certainly couldn’t pull off Project Graduation without this monetary support.

To learn more about Project Graduation, contact the CAASA office at 410-535-3733. Monetary support for Project Graduation is always needed and donations are graciously accepted year round and are tax deductible.

Chris Comer, Prince Frederick

The writer is the president of the CAASA Board of Directors.