The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the cancellation of many annual traditions, including prom and graduation, but a local Facebook group is helping high school seniors get recognized for their achievements.
Brittney Borbash of Hattiesburg created a Facebook group, “Forrest & Lamar County Mississippi Adopt a 2020 Senior,” to pair local residents with high school seniors. In the group, residents can “adopt” a senior and send them gifts and acknowledgments of their graduation and high school activities.
Borbash’s daughter, Ryleigh, is a senior at Presbyterian Christian School, and Borbash didn’t want her daughter and other seniors to go without recognition this year.
“I saw on Facebook that one of my friends in California had ‘adopted’ a senior,” said Borbash. “The senior’s parents had both gone to prison, and the senior had pretty much raised herself and gotten a full academic scholarship to UCLA. Kids like that are totally missing out on a graduation ... and sometimes, the only day where they are celebrated is when they get to walk across a stage.”
The idea grew as Ryleigh, who will attend Mississippi College to run track and field in the fall, heard of a similar concept in Jackson from her future college roommate.
“My daughter is going to be celebrated no matter what, but other kids don’t have the same opportunities,” said Borbash. “She’s going to Mississippi College to run, and her roommate in Jackson told her that they started a group there. My daughter and I decided that we have plenty of kids in the Pine Belt area that would get overlooked by not having a graduation now.
“We decided to set it up, and I had no idea how it would go or how it would be received. We started by using our daughter as an example, and I just invited some friends and different people in Hattiesburg that I knew. Instantly, they were like, ‘this is amazing,’ and were asking if they could post their child.”
In a matter of days, more than 200 seniors were adopted, and the number continues to grow. To help with the effort, Borbash enlisted the help of her friend, Van Tyner, who is heavily involved with the Purvis High School community.
“I helped Brittney build some forms and just started joining in and replying to people because Brittney couldn’t keep up,” said Tyner. “We had so much outpouring from this, and it’s amazing. It has been such a blessing to my heart because I saw these kids hurting so badly. I wanted to do something to give back to them and make sure that they know that we still have kindness in this world. I can’t imagine what they are feeling, but with this, we could give something back to them. Our community as a whole could join in and show their support for these seniors.”
The group is open to high school seniors in Forrest and Lamar counties and includes both private and public schools as well as homeschooled students. Students who are available for “adoption” are mainly posted by their parents; however, students can also be posted by coaches, teachers or other family members. The students can even post themselves if they lack an authority figure in their lives.
Seniors can be adopted as many as three times. After adopting a student, adopters will receive information about their senior and can send them cards and packages that include their favorite snacks and gift cards. Borbash has even received anonymous donations.
For Purvis senior Tyler Ferguson, who will be attending William Carey University to dual major in history and Christian ministries, the program has been a rewarding and heartfelt experience.
“People are trying to do something since we can’t have real graduation,” he said. “They are trying to do something to make the seniors feel a little special. My mom was asked to join a Facebook group, and the next thing I knew, a bunch of parents and friends just decided to adopt me.
“It’s weird because all we have been talking about is that our graduation is being taken away. But, at the same time, it’s kind of cool, because no other senior class has done something like this. I would love to adopt a senior in the next year or a few years down the road. It feels so good to have people saying they support you.”
Sumrall mom Leigh Dickenson said the group made her “feel good.” Her twin boys, Ethan and Eric, are set to graduate this year.
“The lady who adopted my boys had no idea who they were,” she said. “She just saw they were seniors in the class of 2020 and wanted to make them feel good. That made me feel good. It’s fantastic for every child to be recognized for their hard work. You are graduating high school; you stuck with it, and it’s a big accomplishment on its own. It should be recognized.”
The Adopt a Senior group has no set end date, and people can get involved by searching Facebook for the group name. Adoptable students are posted daily.
“As long as kids are being posted, we are going to find people to adopt them,” said Borbash.
