On Saturday, April 26, 2025, Grade 12 students from Fort Frances High School (FFHS) will be at Cloverleaf Grocery to wash your car and feed you, for a price.
The car wash, barbecue and bake sale aims to raise money for Chem Free Grad, which is an all-night celebration for graduating students following the FFHS grad ceremony, says teacher and organizer Brian Gustafson.
“Chem Free Grad is the night of graduation, so this year it will be on Tuesday, June 24,” he said.
“After grad from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. for six hours there’s the Chem Free Grad Party at the sports complex.”
The night features a variety of games, activities and food for the graduates.
“We have a professional illusionist, Chris Funk who comes in from Alberta. Then after that we’ll have ‘name that tune’ with Adrian Chapman,” Gustafson said.
“We have inflatables coming in from Thunder Bay and we have other games going on through the night at the end of the evening, around 3 a.m., we bring the kids back into the auditorium and then we draw for prizes.”
The hope for the event is that new graduates can have a night of fun without indulging in drugs or alcohol, which can lead to disastrous consequences.
“Throughout the evening there’s no alcohol, there’s no substances at all,” Gustafson said.
“So there’s always those stories where the night of graduation kids are out partying, things happen, accidents happen and kids lose their lives. So from a high school perspective, it’s giving the kids a safe place to celebrate their graduation and prevent those things from happening. It’s also a way for the school and the community as a whole to congratulate the kids. Show them we care about them, acknowledge their accomplishments and wish them all the best in the next stage of their journey of their life.”
The class is also doing a Sysco fundraiser. To order some of their bulk food items, contact a Grade 12 student or their parents.
Anyone who wants to donate to Chem Free Grad can drop off donations at the FFHS office or you can contribute by having your car washed or stopping by the bake sale and barbecue this Saturday at Cloverleaf in Emo from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
