Families helping their children without having to worry about costs, charities staying in business to keep doing as much as they can, and kids going through the worst thing they will ever have to deal with getting the support that they deserve. These are just some of the reasons why StuCo organizes fundraising for charities.
To make the process easier for everyone, the Student Council chooses a local charity to raise awareness and funds for throughout the school year. Over the last few years, they have organized events to raise between $35 – $50 thousand each year for the yearly charity.
“A couple years [ago] Dream Catcher Stables [was our charity],” senior and co-president Jordanna Shepard said. “We raised money for them that ended up getting them out of debt and they were able to buy a new place.”
The influence these contributions to the charities leave a long lasting effect, and it’s up to the Student Council officers to choose which charities to help and to make sure they raise as much money as they can.
“We want to create an impact,” senior and co-president Leah Colon said. “When we leave and new officers come in, they can just take over and continue [our initiative].”
Last year’s charity, The TOP Foundation, was near and dear to Klein Oak’s heart because it involved one of the former associate principals, Riley Peters, and his family.
“He was caring and really tried to reach out to anybody who needed help here at Oak,” Shepard said. “Whenever he and his family needed help, we wanted to be there for him as well, even though he wasn’t at the campus anymore.”
The TOP Foundation stands for the Theo Oliver Peters Foundation. Their goal is to provide nutritional, financial, and educational comfort to families with children suffering from pediatric cancer. The charity started because Peters and his wife had triplet baby boys and two of them developed cancer. Although neither of the boys survived, the charity is still active and intends to help families dealing with what the Peters’ experienced.
“Helping a local foundation made everything feel so much more personal because we knew who we were helping, and it pushed us to raise even more money,” senior and treasurer Emma Zirar said. “When thinking of new charities for this year, we wanted to do something local.”
That inspiration to do something local helped guide the officers from the TOP Foundation to another charity close to home, the Children’s Transplant Initiative, or CTI.
“We found [it] through Ms. Lankford. She suggested the organization to one of our officers,” Zirar said. “When our officer told us about it, we immediately wanted to do it because not only were we helping someone who’s part of our Klein Oak family, but we were also helping a greater cause.”
CTI focuses on providing aid to families with children who need transplants. It includes necessities like food, medicine, covering hospital fees, and even offers other financial aid.
“The CTI is a very important and local organization,” Zirar said. “As the children of the founders went to Klein Oak, they were part of the reason why the organization was founded. Transplants, even though not talked about often, are a big part of some people’s lives, so we wanted to bring more light to the situation.”
Most students don’t realize the money from the homecoming carnival only is more than an event to have fun with friends, but it’s a way to provide for those in need.
“[These donations] show Klein Oak wants to be more active in our community,” Colon said. “We want to promote awareness inside the school and the overall community.”
Raising money and awareness this way is a win-win situation for everyone involved. Those buying carnival or HOCO tickets get to have a fun time while their money is going to a deserving cause.
“Nobody should not be allowed the care they deserve because they don’t have enough money,” Colon said.
