You’ve just graduated high school. The Grand March is over. You have accepted your diploma and your friends' and family members' hugs and congratulations.

You pile onto a bus with your class, headed north to Millinocket and the New England Outdoor Center for a weekend of fellowship, hiking, biking, rafting and nights around the fire. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

That’s coming for the Boothbay Region High School Class of 2019, and the local Project Graduation board aims to ensure every student receives this parting gift. This year’s fundraising campaign is already underway. Perhaps you’ve seen a collection jar at a local business, or helped fill the bottle collection bin in front of the high school. A fundraising letter is set to go out soon to businesses and alumni.

Events, including a car wash held this summer, have been aimed at raising money. More recently, Project Graduation took donations during Spooktacular at Boothbay Railway Village.

More events are planned.

“It’s really cool,” said Sue Drapeau, one of the organizers, whose son, Duncan, went to Millinocket with his class in 2017. “Our son really liked the trip. It was unstructured and laid-back, and a lot of the kids talked about hanging out with kids they didn’t know as well during high school.”

Duncan Drapeau, now a sophomore at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, has fond memories of the trip.

“I thought it was a really good time. It was the right length — not too long and not too short. The first day, we had a whole day to just enjoy the campground, take it easy, do our own thing.”

This is the 26th year for Project Graduation at BRHS. The genesis of the national program began in Oxford Hills in 1980, prompted by a string of community tragedies. The previous year, seven teen deaths connected to alcohol, drugs, or both occurred during commencement season, according to a document put out by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Project Graduation was aimed at creating a safe, fun outlet for the graduating students. Subsequent years saw marked declines in alcohol- and drug-related incidents in communities with Project Graduation programs.

In larger schools, Drapeau and fellow board member Jennifer Gosselin noted, Project Graduation events have to be more centralized, such as a lock-in night at the school with games and events. The smaller classes in Boothbay allow for something more expansive. And the aim of the local board is to pick up all of the associated costs.

The bottle collection site, for one, has been an ongoing source of funds. “It fills up every week,” Gosselin said. “People have been so generous.”

Collection jars have been set up at Good n You Fuel & Service, Baker’s Way, Southport General Store, Grover’s Hardware, Southport Memorial Library, Coastal Maine Popcorn and Subway.

Asked what he would tell this year’s seniors about the trip they’re about to take, Duncan Drapeau said, “Just worry about having a good time.”

Drapeau and Gosselin said contributions can be sent to: Boothbay Region Project Graduation, P.O. Box 562, Boothbay, ME 04537.