On Friday, December 11th, Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) Upward Bound brought the joy of Christmas a little earlier with “A Season of Love and Laughter” – a night for families to get together, eat dinner, and watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas right at Holyoke High.

Upward Bound is a college preparatory program that helps students who come from low income families achieve their college dreams. Each year, the program raises funds in order to benefit the NMH Upward Bound Senior Scholarship that is given to every student during their senior year in order to help make the college process more affordable for them.

Background:

In previous years, the program at Holyoke has approached raising money through common fundraising methods like hosting a car wash during the beginning of summer. However, last year Anna Rigalli, the previous program advisor and current Holyoke High guidance counselor, decided to gather parents of the students in the program to discuss alternative ways to raise money for the scholarships.

The idea of “Dinner and Movie” was thrown on the table and eventually became the program’s choice to raise funds with a showing of the Chris Van Allsburg classic, The Polar Express.

With staff, students, and parents all volunteering, they managed to raise over a thousand dollars for the scholarships, something that had not been done before. “I think it’s great. It’s a great way to raise money but also get families, or students like me, in the Christmas spirit,” said Shannon Dion ‘17, who attended both last year and this year said when asked of how she felt about the event.

Not only did they manage to surpass the goal they were aiming for, but they also hosted an event that was so successful people who attended last year started planning ahead to also attend this year.

Set Up:

Staff and members of the program were required to get to the school cafeteria around 4pm to help decorate the place with Christmas decorations and were encouraged to wear reindeer antlers to distinguish them from those who came for the event.

Green, red, and white tablecloths with festive Christmas hats, glitter, and famous How the Grinch Stole Christmas quotes adorned the tables of the Holyoke cafeteria. Balloons and lit up candy canes were plastered all of over the walls and windows; anyone driving past would have noticed that Holyoke High was in the holiday spirit.

A live sized (and moving!) Santa was set up in the middle of the cafeteria. Families gathered around him to take pictures and children were encouraged to greet him, making him a big hit of the night.

Dinner:

Dinner began being served at 5:45pm and ran until 6:45pm. The food was served and monitored by parent volunteers who helped cook it or contributed by bringing something edible. All different kinds of food were served and as people when up to get it, they could choose what to get or what not to. There was a medley of food: four types of rice; white, yellow, mixed with beans, and Colombian style; two different kinds of chickens; grilled and in a stew; two types of salads; macaroni and green. Meatballs, pork, mini baked potatoes, and pizza were served too. There were also many desserts to choose from; cupcakes, cookies, and cakes of all kinds. There was literally was something to eat for everyone.

Soda, water, and juices were offered as the beverage choices; even hot chocolate for those who wished to warm up and get more into the festive mood.

Members of the school’s Madrigal ensemble volunteered to sing live Christmas songs throughout dinner, providing an alternative form of music and entertainment than just the classic English and Spanish Christmas songs playing from the speakers.

Raffle:

Throughout dinner, Stephanie Colon ‘16, in charge of announcements and raffle tickets, went around asking those who attended if they would like to participate on the raffle that was being held by purchasing a ticket for $1. Those who wished to do so, got a yellow ticket and a chance to win half of the money that was made at the end of the dinner with each purchase of a ticket.

Before dinner ended, a young boy was called up to the front where the announcers were and was given the chance to choose the winner by pulling out the winning ticket out of a bowl. The winner was Josie Moriarty, a junior at Holyoke High and a member of The Herald!

Pajamas and Ugly Sweater Contest:

Pajamas and ugly sweaters were encouraged to be worn by everyone since there would be prizes for those who looked the best. Prizes included were pencils, pens, highlighters, and books. Jared McPherson, a senior at Holyoke High, won first place with the ugliest sweater of the night, two parent volunteers falling in second and third place for the best pajamas. Because there were so many prizes, everyone who was dressed up got to choose a prize to make it fair.

Movie:

Afterwards, people were asked to make their way and directed to the auditorium where the movie was being shown. A projector was set up in front of the stage where the movie played in a laptop and through it, reflected onto the stage.

Before entering the auditorium, additional snacks were available for purchase outside in the hallway that could be bought for during the movie for a $1; snacks included but not limited to were chocolate bars, candy, soda, etc.

Those who attended got to experience a similar night that resembled just like how it is when they go to the movie theaters, just for a much cheaper price.

Students, school staff, and members of the community were welcomed to come and enjoy a night full of fun, laughter, and happiness with NMH Upward Bound and help raise funds to benefit the seniors in the program.

This makes two years in a row Upward Bound hosted a successful “movie night” fundraiser – a tradition that hopefully continues into the future!

Click here for our exclusive photo gallery of this event