A local Facebook group is giving locals the opportunity to adopt a high school senior, but it's not what you might think.
Regina Orosco, a resident of San Luis Obispo County, wanted to do something to brighten the spirits of local high school seniors who are missing out on the last part of senior year.
"I just wanted to do something," Orosco said.
So after seeing other counties do it, she created a page titled "Adopt a high school senior 2020- San Luis Obispo County."
Orosco says the number of members quickly grew as locals caught wind of the page.
Here's how it works:
"A parent or a guardian or a trusted friend will post their senior on there and the high school they go to and then basically somebody from our community will adopt a child so they can send them a basket of goodies, notes of encouragement," Orosco said.
Blythe Lloyd, a senior at Arroyo Grande High School, says she was looking forward to what the last bit of her senior year had to offer.
"It's been a little rough because the last three months of senior year is where everything falls into place and it's like, rewarding for the seniors," Lloyd said,
Amara Johnson, also a senior at AGHS, was looking forward to attending her senior prom.
"I was actually looking forward to that because I've never been to a prom and I was going to go this year," Johnson said.
Both Lloyd and Johnson's moms made a post on the Facebook page to get the girls recognized by community members. It didn't take long until Kristen McGarvey got the opportunity to celebrate these two grads.
"Our seniors this year got the short end of the stick so I had to get involved," McGarvey said.
While maintaining social distancing, McGarvey was able to deliver gift baskets to the girls, filled with their favorite snacks and gift cards to their favorite places.
"When I came home there was a basket and she was there, and she surprised me with it," Johnson said.
"It was really nice, it was awesome," Lloyd said.
Aliyah Serrano, who is a senior at Nipomo High School, was also adopted by local community members. While she waits to meet the person who adopted her, the surprise alone is something to look forward to.
"It feels really magical and really exciting to know that it's going on. I'm so excited, and I feel special from it," Serrano said.
For more information on how you can get your high school grad, or to adopt a high school senior, click here.
