Cougars Care is a staff committee providing help to families in need of resources and gifts for the holidays. They collect gift donations, for struggling families during Christmas time, including parents and children. This interview is with Kimberly Simpson, head of the committee.

Q: “How was this committee created, or how did this thought come into mind?”

A: “It started before I was even here, and this is my ninth year here. It was something that was already in place, just because I think no matter where you are, there’s always a need during the holidays. There’s always going to be someone who could use help. Our thought is, it doesn’t necessarily need to be a financial thing, it could be a family where a parent just lost a job, maybe someone is dealing with an illness, or something in the family. There are so many hardships out there, it doesn’t just have to be financial. The whole point is to show people at the holidays, that there are people that are thinking of them, and just the humanity piece of it. Even if it’s not that we’re giving them all this money or tons and tons of gifts, there’s something that just lifts people up when there’s a humanity piece to it. People are thinking of you and they kinda just want to help during this time of year. So that’s always been the thought behind it.”

Q: “What is your goal for the future of Cougars Care”

A: “Well, as people left and we exchanged in the building, we didn’t do anything with it for a couple years. Last year was the first year we started it up again. I think we’re kinda in a rebuilding phase where we’re trying to raise money for it right now. But I think we would like to reach as many families as possible, and be able to do more for those families as the years go on. Not only are we starting to do fundraisers like the bake sales to try to build up our financial account, but we do donations like the Christmas trees and have people take names. Our staff was an interval last year, but also reaching out to local businesses that are willing to donate gift cards and things like that. Just so we can try to build it and reach more families.”

Q: “Where do the profits go towards? What are the specific people and places that you donate to?”

A: “It’s all families that have a student at Plainfield South. If a student is identified as someone who would be a recipient, we will provide gifts to the entire family. For their siblings, and even for their parents sometimes. We will ask teachers, social workers, counselors, and the whole staff if a child has a situation or hardship in their families, we ask them to give us names. Then we reach out to the family, and ask them if they want to be a recipient, because some families don’t. Most families will, but there will always be families that don’t. Then we find out who’s in the family, and ask them for some wants and some needs. The money that we raise goes directly to that. It may be essential things like coats, hats, and gloves, but we also ask them for some fun things they want.”

Q: “How can students get involved and help out?”

A: “For our bake sale, we did reach out to NHS, blue crew, and student council to find out if kids were willing to sign up and help out. Those kids a lot of times are servant driven or need the volunteer hours. If anyone wants to drop off baked goods on the days of the sales, that’s always welcomed. Students are also always welcome to take anonymous names off the tree, and buy gifts for these people. If kids wanted to sign up during their lunch or study hall, we could probably have kids help wrap presents this year, because it was one of the things we were struggling with last year.”

Q: “If anyone was asking about participating in the committee, what can you tell them?”

A: “This is not a club kids can join. It’s more so a staff committee. The two biggest ways kids can help is by contributing to our bake sales, and offering to donate a gift card or buy presents. If kids have questions or want to find ways they can help out, they can reach out to me over email. Students are certainly welcome to want to help out. Everything is anonymous, so they would have no idea who they were buying for.”