On Monday, November 25th the Executive Board of Student Council was able to participate in a wonderful and life changing event called the Caring for Kids Winter Clothing Drive. Caring for Kids is a non-profit organization that collects donations of winter clothes, hats, gloves, boots, and uniforms for children who are in need. We were able to travel to Lyon Magnet Elementary School in Waukegan to lend a helping hand.

Before we were able to take the trip to Lyon Magnet, Student Council adopted five different kids and bought all of the items that they were in need of. Along with Student Council, four other Executive Board members adopted their own kids and Spanish National Honor Society jumped on board to adopt three more kids! We gathered up clothing items and school supplies that would later brighten up a child’s day.

Once the day of the event took place, the Executive Board members were put to work right away. We started off unloading a large trailer filled with the purple bags with the donated items for each child that we would be helping. We separated the bags on long tables that took up the entire perimeter of the cafeteria. Once everything was in place, the real fun began.

We were split up in to smaller groups with other volunteers and received pieces of paper with each child’s name on it with their room number. One by one, each of us got to go get each child and bring them back to the cafeteria. Some children we brought back were best friends, siblings, or even twins with huge smiles on their faces.

We started to take out each item from their purple bag to see if they fit and if they liked them. It was heartwarming to see these children light up from receiving things that they needed, not wanted. They were so grateful and excited. Once we made sure that everything fit the child perfectly we put the clothes back into their bag and backpack where they could pick up their new clothes at the end of the day.

Being able to be a part of this amazing clothing drive was an experience that none of us will forget. Katy Fritz a junior member of the Executive Board said that “Collecting all of the donations for these children was wonderful by itself, but being able to see their faces and know just how much they appreciated it brought this experience to another level of meaning.”

In a world where people tend to only focus on themselves and we sometimes forget about the less fortunate. “Watching the faces of numerous kids light up over things as simple as a winter jacket really showed me how much can be taken for granted,” said Sandra Ebrim, a senior member of the Executive Board, after her experience.

It takes special people to be able to take lots of time and energy into making this clothing drive successful, and we are proud to say that we were lucky enough to be a part of it. This experience will stay with us throughout our life and we look forward to being able to help out again next year.