As the race to fund prom nears the finish line, fundraising progressively ramps up. At Abington Friends School, it has been a tradition in the Upper School for members of the junior class, referred to as the Prom Committee, to plan prom for the senior class as a present and a sign of gratitude for their leadership and generosity. They are a group who come together to choose the aesthetics, menu, and raise money for the special night.
Prom Committee is supervised by Haley Hellman, an Upper School English teacher and 11th grade Dean, and student-led by Makayla Littles ‘27 and Hsin-Hua Peters ‘27. This year’s prom is being held at Arcadia University at the Grey Tower Castle with a masquerade ball theme.
According to Legal Clarity, “Prom ticket costs vary across regions. Schools in urban areas like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago often have higher ticket prices due to venue rental costs and higher demand. Conversely, rural or smaller-town schools generally offer more affordable tickets.”
So far, the Prom Committee has successfully raised money by selling hot chocolate with marshmallows, decorative pins for lanyards, and baskets and roses for Valentine’s Day.
Peters said, “Fundraising is going well but sometimes it is hard to tell what the Upper School wants and what their preferences are.”
Although it flies under the radar, a big component of fundraising is apps such as Apple Pay, Cash App, Zelle, and Venmo.
As a result, Peters said, “We ran into problems in the beginning because we all have our phones in the Yondr pouch and it took a toll on sales in the fall.”
Littles said, “Ticket sales [for Prom] will go on sale in late February. We take apple pay, card, and cash.”
Through the midst of changes Prom Committee has graciously carried themselves. They are curious to see how the graduating class of 2026 will react to the intricate details of prom.
Littles advises the rising sophomores, “Start fundraising now, don’t think you have time to do it later because you might not have as much time as you think you do.”
Hellman said, “Simple fundraisers are often more lucrative and it’s often more manageable.”
Fundraising this year has proved to be very successful but seemingly difficult in some ways. As the rest of the school year continues, stop by to see how you can support the class of 2027 in making a great prom for them and the class of 2026.
avery fus • Mar 8, 2026 at 5:24 pm
As a sophomore I wanted to be involved in planning prom, but after participating for the first few months, I realized that I didn’t have the time to be as involved as I hoped to be. I want to commend my classmates for the hard work they’ve done with all the planning as well as the effort they have put into fundraising. I originally thought that for all the fundraising that was done, the price of the tickets were too high. Yet, after it was explained in a class meeting that the money from the tickets will go towards candlelight and other things for next year (and things for prom), I did not have as much of an issue with it. However I can very much understand how others may be discouraged to attend, but I would encourage them to talk to Haley about it as I believe the prom com. is more than willing to try and help out.
Paige • Mar 6, 2026 at 1:55 pm
Not to discourage or diminish the fundraising from our junior class last year, but I think this year has a lot more effort put into it for fundraising. I think last year we just didn’t know where to start with fundraising and didn’t know what to do that would engage people. And this year I’m seeing a difference and how not just the way the fundraisers are planning, but the way people are engaging is a lot different than last year. Last year it didn’t because I knew that my mom was paying for it and she was happy to, but I think the prices shouldn’t be this high for a prom ticket, and doesn’t leave room for everyone to want or be able to attend. So I think that price should go down significantly.
Percy • Mar 5, 2026 at 8:28 am
I remember when my class were juniors, we didn’t receive a lot of guidance about when/how to start fundraising for prom. While me personally I was not on prom committee, it was clear to me that everyone on prom committee was working extremely hard to fundraise even with the disadvantage of beginning in October of our junior year instead of like the spring of their sophomore year – which it seems this junior class did. However, overall its really inspiring to see the younger grades working so hard and its definitely a bittersweet moment where this is my last prom and also probably my best one based on the amount of work the junior class has put in to make this last prom really special.
Kylie Firmin • Mar 4, 2026 at 7:28 pm
I think it’s really interesting to see fundraising by this year’s junior class vs. classes in previous years. As a senior, I’m not really in close proximity to the Prom Committee, so my perspective has been one entirely from the outside looking in. But their work is nothing shy of impressive. I know how much they publicly do, so I can’t imagine what happens behind the scenes. I think the tradition of prom being a “gift” to the senior class might be a motivating factor for all the hard work they do, since there are many cross-grade friendships. But I also think that Prom Com. presents the opportunity for junior classes to truly band together as they come to the end of their first year of being upperclassmen. It’s really special.