MAKING IT BEAUTIFUL – Garden club member Madelyn Pietrucha of Beach Haven Park gets to work creating corsages for the Buddy Prom.
Late last month, Long Beach Island Garden Club members Madelyn Pietrucha and Debbie Ayers gathered a group of nine club members to make corsages and boutonnieres for the approximately 40 students with special needs who attended their prom at Southern Regional High School.
This community project was created by the club in 2019 for the school’s Buddy Prom, featuring traditional pastel rosebuds, baby’s breath, and pretty ribbons.
The next day, garden club members JoAnne McKee and Judy Bouton had fun handing out corsages and pinning boutonnieres on students at the prom.
“This is our third year doing this,” McKee said. “We couldn’t do it for a while because of COVID. We were really happy to be back last year. It’s always great to see the faces of the prom attendees when we put on the corsages, boutonnieres and bracelets.”
“We are really grateful to the garden club for their help,” said Elaine Triano, special services instructor. “They help make this a very successful event.”
“This is all part of our outreach efforts,” said Gillian Rozicer, the club’s public relations director. “We like to do something for the younger people and the seniors.” —EE
