Yanira Hernandez was devastated when her daughter’s senior year was dismantled by the restrictions when the COVID-19 pandemic closed Eastlake High School and instituted stay at home and learn at home orders. She knew the significance of missing all the senior events: prom, gradnite, senior signing day, senior breakfast, the last day of school and, most likely, graduation itself. But with a tight knit community of mothers, they found one way to bring the graduation home to the seniors — creating graduation yard signs for all Eastlake High seniors.
Hernandez said with everything happening so abruptly, they were talking about what they could do. Most of their children have been friends since kindergarten. But one parent saw a sign in North County, and this project that started with an idea quickly spread throughout the South Bay.
Hernandez said the sign they saw costs about $50 to order but they found a San Diego vendor who lives in Otay Ranch. Because the family is into graphics, she put together a sign over the phone and ordered it on the spot. It took about eight to 10 days to get it, but they ordered 100 at a bulk rate for a lower cost.
“For the kids at Eastlake High School, every family we didn’t know were getting laid off or had financial issues, we really cared about all of the seniors of East Lake and eventually South Bay,” said Hernandez. “As soon as we put it out there on social media, we asked teachers, coaches to spread the word, and we just started getting the orders in. The price was completely reasonable. We put a team together, so when we got all of the orders, we had about 60 to 70. We put moms in the cars, and we split up addresses and dropped them in their yards.”
Hernandez said that this project has been exciting and rewarding, dropping off more than 600 signs over the past six weeks.
“I usually deliver around 8-9 p.m., and I’ll just honk a few times to let them know that their sign is here,” said Hernandez. “Some people said they were so excited. Sometimes people come out while I am placing the sign in the yard and they are in tears, happy tears, because they get to celebrate at that moment with their senior and it just brings joy. It’s brought joy to us, to the kids, to the families, to the community.”
Hernandez said people began calling, texting seeing the signs Olympian High, Eastlake High, Otay Ranch.
“That’s how we got started,” said Hernandez. “Other parents from other schools were calling wanting the same signs for a different school. So we said, ‘Why not? Let’s change the colors, the name of the school. We are all a community across Sweetwater’ We also went to San Ysidro and helped them.”
Hernandez and her team of moms have delivered over 3,000 signs now across Chula Vista, and the South Bay. They produce a generic sign for those in small schools, or home schooled. It’s a black and white sign with “Love Our Grad” and they can decorate it, color it. Even kindergarteners have purchased those and have celebrated. Doing this in bulk, the average cost of a grad sign is $10-$13.
“We’ve sold 2,300 to high schools, the rest has been to middle and elementary school,” said Hernandez.
“We’ve had principal’s calling asking for rush jobs for teacher appreciation. We were able to help three schools with teacher appreciation signs. That was exciting as well. Parents have been posting all over social media pictures of their smiling graduate with their signs! It makes our hearts full. There is a school in Alabama that created yard signs for their seniors based on our design. I also helped the Monrovia School District near LA to make yard signs for their seniors. Nothing but positivity and love for all these kids.”
