SOUTHAMPTON Co., Va. - High school seniors did not get to have a traditional graduation last year because of the pandemic, and parents and students feel that may happen again.
"There's a lot of seniors out there that do care about it, and as a mom,” Krystal Tomlin, a mother whose son goes to Southampton High School, said, “my heart breaks for them."
Tomlin’s son, who is also an athlete at the school, is set to graduate this year.
"He doesn't care about the proms and the dances, the committees, he is ready to graduate,” Tomlin said.
That is why she put her son up for adoption in the Facebook group "Western Tidewater Adopt-a-Senior Class of 2021." She is not the only one, as other parents of graduating seniors have as well.
"We pretty much have invited people to join the group and others have invited,” Kasey Cosby, the Facebook group’s organizer, said.
The focus of the Facebook group is to recognize the hard work and success of Western Tidewater's graduating seniors.
Cosby started the group with help of moms like Tomlin after being inspired by a similar effort done elsewhere last year.
"They can send in an encouraging word, a card; they can give them a gift,” Cosby said, explaining the goal of the group. “The students... we ask them to give them some ideas on what they like."
It started for students in the Western Tidewater region, but they got requests from parents across Hampton Roads and the Peninsula.
"That's awesome,” Cosby said when asked how she felt with the group reaching people in other areas. “I'm one of those that don't think it's any problem having anybody that wants to join that's from a different area."
Tomlin also adopted three seniors herself: Two she knew and one she didn't. Two of the students are friends with her son.
Related: You can ‘adopt’ a senior to help make their last year of high school special amid pandemic
"I did that just to reach out to reach out to a different community just to show our love and our support,” Tomlin said.
The group has almost 900 members. The group is set to private, but parents can request to join. Click here to be redirected to the Western Tidewater Adopt-a-Senior Class of 2021 Facebook group.
