By Eliza PARTIKA

After 30 years, Prom Plus is closing its doors but is planning a bingo night to support the final event.

Prom Plus, the organization that was started after the 1991 death of Crescenta Valley High School senior Berlyn Cosman, will hold its final event on May 18 after struggling to fill volunteer and board positions. To raise money for the event, a bingo and barbecue will take place April 20 at the Verdugo Hills Memorial Hall/American Legion at 4011 La Crescenta Ave. Doors open at 4:30 p.m.; the first game is at 6 p.m. Food and beverages available for purchase. Tickets are $25 each for 10 games and a dauber. Tickets are available at the office of Crescenta Valley Weekly, 3800 La Crescenta Ave. #206 or at the door the night of the event.

“It was nice to be a part of an organization that I knew one night a year we were giving the community a safe wonderful place to [have a fun night],” said Prom Plus president Megan Johnson. Prom Plus and Prom Plus Club members volunteer at many small events throughout the year as well.

Prom Plus is a post-prom party for CV High School seniors and their guests, typically held at the YMCA of the Foothills at no cost to prom attendees. Prom Plus has long been a cornerstone of the La Crescenta community, a source of community and support for CVHS students, ensuring their wellbeing on prom night. Each year, Prom Plus begins around midnight and lasts until 5:30 a.m. with activities that have included a full casino, Dance Dance Revolution, mechanical bull or shark, bungee run, bungee jump and a zip line. Food donated by local restaurants as well as some prepared by onsite volunteers is made available to attendees all night long, thanks to access to the Y’s kitchen.

Prom Plus was started by community and school activists – including Marian Mirsky, Marcia Markley, Patty Steur and CVHS principal Linda Evans – following the 1991 murder of CV High School senior Beryln Cosman at an unsupervised post-prom hotel party. The first Prom Plus event was held in 1994.

The dissolution of the 30-year old organization comes after difficulties finding new volunteers to staff its board. Without the vital work community members put into staffing the prom night event and holding fundraisers like bingo nights, holiday boutique and CVHS barbecues, there is not enough support to keep the organization running.

“Though we’ve become a staple in the Crescenta Valley, the sad fact is that the organization no longer attracts any volunteers for its board. I’ve resigned because I think that it’s important for parents of young kids to be a part of this organization yet few have signed up. Sponsors and players (for bingo night) are needed in order to ensure that this final event is really one to remember,” wrote Robin Goldsworthy in an email to the CV Weekly. Goldsworthy was the president of Prom Plus from 1999 until 2021.

Currently, Prom Plus Club at Crescenta Valley High School, the youth arm of the organization, has a few high school students in it and their members can be seen throughout the community volunteering.

To run a big event and sustain the partnerships Prom Plus has made with the community, Johnson said many more people, and resources, are needed.

“We’re closing now. At the level that we’ve known [Prom Plus] for 30 years, we can’t continue without a lot more volunteers [and board members],” Johnson said.

She added she was hopeful the organization would have at least three more parent board members volunteer; however, no one stepped up.

“I mean, it’s just not sustainable,” she said.

She hopes maybe a smaller, more organic group can come together to continue the tradition.

“If we scale it down to a smaller level, it will take [less] money and [with] people involved in the pre-planning – maybe that’s what the community wants and maybe that’s what’s sustainable,” Johnson said.

Information meetings are held monthly at the Firehouse (2563 Foothill Blvd.) for parents and teens to find out more information. Johnson encouraged parents to get involved and encouraged CVHS students to sign up for the Prom Plus Club. The possibilities are there, Johnson told CV Weekly, if a dedicated group of parents and students step up to fill the empty seats.

To find out more about how to get involved and for information regarding the April 20 bingo night, visit www.promplus.org or email carryallthetables@gmail.com.