'Adopt a Senior' group helps encourage high school seniors missing out on last year

FOREST, Va. (WSET) -- A Facebook group is surprising high school seniors who are missing out on their graduation ceremonies due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Jaylen Paige, who goes to Jefferson Forest High School, received a basket full of goodies from the family that chose to adopt him.

Although he was disappointed that his senior year was cut short, he says this was a nice surprise.

"It shows that people definitely do care about us seniors and that we don't get to experience everything," he said.

The Facebook group is called Virginia "Adopt a Senior" 2020.

"It's really a great opportunity for the seniors to be honored in this way since a lot of other things are being taken away from them," said Jaylen's mom, Tomeca.

The group is private, but you can sign up to send a senior anything, from a card to a gift, to encourage them.

There are buttons at the top of the page that says "not adopted" and you can sift through to find a senior to send a gift to.

So far, more than 370 seniors have been "adopted".