New Fallon senior 'adoption' Facebook group takes off

A pair of Fallon moms wanted to make a difference for the high school seniors.

After seeing an “Adopt a Senior” Facebook group for seniors in Northern Nevada emerge, Heidi Woolsey and Angela Clyburn were curious about how this could work for seniors in Churchill County. After Woolsey posted her son, Tyler, up for “adoption,” he was adopted in minutes.

“I figured it would help ease some of the sadness those seniors felt having to miss out on all the milestones that they have looked forward to their entire lives,” said Clyburn, who’s oldest graduated from Churchill County High School last spring. “I saw all the excitement he had leading up to graduation. Going to his last prom and preparing to go to state for track, all the ‘lasts’ were a big deal. As a parent going through all the emotions of these ‘lasts’ are something you don’t want to miss out on.”

While it doesn’t replace the fact that seniors from CCHS and Oasis Academy are missing out on prom, spring sports, band trips or conventions, Woolsey said the generosity from the community has been exceptional.

“Making this group available to our community has brought a little joy to those seniors and their families,” she said. “I know first-hand that this doesn’t replace all the events these kids are missing out on, but to see all the generosity and love from our wonderful community has brought smiles to the kids’ faces, this is what is all about, just to make them feel special and that we understand that they are missing out on so much.”

The way it works is community members request access to join the private group where they will scroll through the numerous posts of seniors up for adoption. Parents or guardians of a high school senior will post about their child and give a brief description. When someone requests to adopt a senior, the community member, friend or family member will contact the senior’s parent or guardian to coordinate gift ideas and pick-up and drop-off locations.

In only a week, Woolsey said that every senior who has been put up for adoption in the group has been adopted. But there are still many who have not been put up.

“I watch the posts very closely throughout the day and I have some wonderful people who have reached out to me and asked that I let them know who hasn’t been adopted,” Woolsey said. “Between us, we’ve done a great job to be sure no one that wants to participate has been left out.”

With the group being private, it also gives Clyburn and Woolsey the extra layer of security to protect the seniors and their families. Although they haven’t encountered issues, Woolsey said she’s the only one who can approve new member and she monitors all the posts.

“So far, I’ve not noticed anything of concern, and nothing has been reported to me,” she said. “The only issue I’ve really had with creating this group is I’ve received a lot of messages about getting every senior put up for adoption. I’ve really taken every measure I can to ensure everyone gets included. We have such a loving and wonderful community here and I understand they don’t want to leave anyone out. The reality is not every parent or senior wants to participate, and that’s OK. I think we’ve done our best to reach out and let it be known that this group exists and encourage them to join.”

For those families who need to put their CCHS or Oasis Academy senior up for adoption on the Facebook group, Woolsey said to search for “Fallon Adopt a Senior” on Facebook. The group name will have green and blue hearts.