YORKTOWN, N.Y. - The Yorktown Schools First Nighters have been dedicated to maintaining the arts at Yorktown High School for decades.

The non-profit parents organization was founded in 1977 with the objective to cultivate an appreciation of the creative and performing arts in the school system and the wider community. The First Nighters focus on raising funds for scholarships to students in the arts programs, generating awareness in the community about arts events, and volunteering their time to the programs. The group also has sponsor families that donate money to the arts programs. The current focus areas for scholarships are the band, orchestra, choir, dance company, tech crew, drama and musical groups.

“We usually give two seniors in each discipline, chosen by their teacher a scholarship,” group leader and elementary school teacher Shelbey Graf said. “They must have committed to that specific discipline for two years and shown commitment to it.”

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The group is currently made up of three parents, Graf alongside Craig Armstrong and Rossana Federico. Each joined the group as they had children at Yorktown High School who participated in arts and cultural programs, and because they saw the organization needed parent volunteers.

“I actually stepped in spontaneously, I saw an email that came my way that said, ‘emergency meeting,’” Graf said. “So I went to this meeting and introduced myself, and they said, ‘we’re dissolving the organization because we don’t have volunteers, and nobody’s willing to step up and take over.’ And I couldn’t allow that to happen.”

When Graf joined the group in the 2018-19 school year, she was in charge of the end-of-year banquet the organization holds to honor graduating seniors. The following year, she was the sole member, and was in charge of forging the group ahead once the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. **BULLSEYE

“When everyone was in quarantine and stuck in their homes, we got a photographer to volunteer to go around to the graduating seniors’ homes and take these professional pictures, with them wearing their performance gear or holding their instruments, whatever it may be,” she said. “We tried to bring light to a darker situation and made sure those graduating seniors got the celebration and honor that they deserved, because they had worked so hard in the previous years.”

It was during the pandemic that Armstrong joined the group to take on treasurer duties after Graf spoke to some families after a performance at the end of 2021.

“When performances had just started happening again, my daughter was a junior that year. I joined, and for the last year plus I’ve been handling the financial side of things” he explained. “Since there are only three of us, we all had to do a little of everything. So a lot of volunteer time and a lot of managing the fundraising that we’re doing.” **STANDARD

Federico’s story is similar, joining in 2021 when her daughter entered the high school and Graf sent out a message asking for volunteers. Federico is in charge of the creative messaging for the group, writing the newsletter that is sent out to sponsors and helping to plan the various fundraisers.

“My daughter, being the shy student that she is, it’s a very big deal for her to be in the performing arts,” she said. “So my heart and soul are in helping this program and in growing it because these children have so much to be offered through the performing arts, it’s a big deal.”

The group’s fundraising focuses include concession stands selling candy bars at events, 50/50 raffles, and restaurant nights where local eateries will donate a percentage of money made from takeout orders to the group. There are also more involved and creative efforts, including “Kiss the Cast,” where audience members can buy a small bag of Hershey’s Kisses to give to a member of the drama crew alongside a personalized note, and graphics designed by Federico that focus on a single student and their work in the arts programs. **BULLSEYE

However, at the end of the year, the group will yet again run into its old problem: lack of volunteers. Both Armstrong and Graf will be “graduating” from the group, as their children will no longer be in the school system.

“I think we all kind of graduate out with them,” Armstrong said. “I think it’s important for us to pass the torch, that’s definitely one thing that we really want to do.”

Federico hopes that more parents will join the group, as the more people that are in the group, the easier it will be for them to hold events and fund raise. However, she will keep the group going on her own for as long as she needs to.

“I can keep the wheel turning, the goal is just to have more motivated parents to see the opportunity in what the First Nighters can do for the programs and for the students,” she said.

The graduating members will still help bring attention to the group, Graf said.

“I’m here to support the cause, I hope that we can continue to raise awareness about the value of performing arts,” she said. “A lot of these kids end up going to college to perform, and we want them to know that we honor that.”

The First Nighters have a dine-out restaurant night at Oscar’s Italian Restaurant planned for Monday, Dec. 4. Ten percent of all proceeds from take out orders will go towards the choir program for its upcoming overnight competition. The group also runs a Facebook page called The First Nighters of Yorktown and a Twitter page @firstnighters.