Gifts, family, the confines of a home: these are all of the small things many people take for granted over the holidays. Yet these holiday essentials are not always attainable for everyone. But Libertyville High School has a tradition of shining holiday spirit on dependent families each winter via the Wildcats Initiative for Sharing at the Holidays (WISH) program.
Although there was not an official count, Libertyville High School’s third period classes combined to raise over $4,000 for 83 families in 2013, according to student activities director Mrs. Jennifer Uliks. Each year, there are several unique approaches classes take to organize their fundraisers. For instance, Ms. Monken’s class contacted Jamba Juice and struck a deal in which Jamba sold smoothies outside of the cafeteria that resulted in profit that went towards the class fundraiser. Dr. Kellum’s class hosted a fundraiser during dinner at Culver’s, as the students worked along with the employees.
Mrs. Uliks was happy with the 2013 campaign. “It was better than expected,” she said. “What stood out from 2013 compared to years past is that people came up with creative and sometimes even outlandish ideas, but that is a positive.”
Ms. Uliks emphasized how this year, as is the case each year, there are a few gifts that came up on many wish lists. “Among the most popular gift requests among boys were bikes, while some of the most popular requests among girls were dolls and One Direction merchandise,” Ms. Uliks said. “Winter apparel was also a common request among the families, in which it is was a necessity for many.”
While the fundraiser is a collaborative effort for the entire school, classes always challenge each other to see who can raise the most money. Ms. Dyan Naslund’s class and Mr. Craig Schmidt’s class were some of the top contributors, according to Mrs. Uliks. Mr. Schmidt also gave a personal donation.
While the initiative remains the same, each year produces distinct memories that can last a lifetime for a child and a family. “I’ll never forget the reaction this one 18-month-old boy had when he saw his new bike at the family dinner,” Ms. Uliks recalls. “He ran up and shouted ‘Mommy, look at my bike’ and goes over and kisses his bike and would not let go of it. The mom could not pry him away from the bike.”
It’s no wonder WISH has made strides over the years. Yet the inevitable fact is that some classes do not raise as much money as they initially intended. Physical Welfare supervisor Patti Mascia thinks that in order for more classes to reach their goals, they need to draw some form of inspiration. “When I do the fundraiser with my class, the motivation to raise money comes from the heart,” she explained. “If there’s a class that is exceeding expectations, they can reach out to others for inspiration.”
Moreover, if a class is struggling, she says the class should divvy up a game plan for individuals to do things they are inspired to do. “Money can be raised in various roles,” she says. “So find somebody who loves shopping for the gifts, and somebody who loves donating, somebody who loves wrapping the gifts, etc.”
Each year, the fundraisers vary, new families participate, and the gifts vary as well, but there’s one emotion that everyone feels: pride. WISH leader and junior Tommy Peterson said this was the feeling he had when the fundraiser finished. “I felt the most proud waking up on Christmas day and realizing that not only am I having a great Christmas but so is a family out there that we helped,” he said.
It is fair to say that LHS’s winter tradition has been a consistent success. So much so that Ms. Mascia would like to see it run through second semester eventually. “It just seems that we do all this amazing work for a semester, then we kind of tail off second semester, when there are other people that could really benefit from our help,” she reflected. “But as far as WISH itself, I think it’s running really well.”
