When Micheel Palmer Nuckols was invited by a friend to join an Adopt a Senior page on Facebook, she knew she had to do something for her Wayne Township community.

“Of course I’d rather adopt a senior in my township, so I created the BDHS/BDU group,” Nuckols said.

The page is meant as a way for Wayne Township community members to show their support of the Class of 2020. As of this past Friday, 215 Ben Davis seniors had been adopted and Nuckols says that number grows by the hour. While the page is not officially sponsored by Wayne Township, Wayne students and their families are enjoying the ride.

To participate, all a senior has to do is join the group on Facebook (called the BDHS/BDU Adopt a Senior Class of 2020), present a paragraph or two of information about themselves and wait to be adopted.

Once adopted, the senior can expect words of support, signs of encouragement and maybe a gift or two from the community member who adopts them. There is no official listing of what the community member is suppose to offer, other than support for a senior who has lost prom, senior skip day, Wayne Walks and graduation to the Covid-19 crisis.

Nuckols has a daughter who graduated from Ben Davis in 2018 and has a son finishing his sophomore year there.

“My son and I have talked many times about how things have changed since Covid-19 hit,” she said. “He shares classes with many of the seniors and he knows how excited they were about walking to receive their diploma.

“I received a message from a young lady and she said that many of her friends feel like Adopt a Senior group is the only thing they have to look forward to at the moment.”

Nuckols also has enjoyed seeing what Wayne students have to share.

“To see the senior accomplishments and their plans for the future has been beyond incredible,” she said. “Our community has come together to ensure every senior is recognized, congratulating every student along the way.”

Nuckols has received help from her frend Kathy Cross, who she befriended through a Suicide Awareness walk.

“Both of my kids graduated from BD and I got a lot of inspiration from Michelle,” Cross said. “The most satisfying part for me has been getting thank you’s from the parents and kids.”