University Housing does program to help sponsor USC employees and families in need during the holiday season.
The University of South Carolina loves to help out those in need during the holiday season. Toys for Tots, The Nurturing Center, and other charities sponsor local residents in need. But since last year, University Housing's SET (Staff Enrichment Team) decided to “help out their own.”
Stephanie Carter-Smith, assistant director of south campus and committee member of SET says, “we started the We Care Adopt-a-Family Initiative last year and we helped 15 different families within our Department. Typically our Department would ask for staff members to bring in new/unwrapped toys to be donated and we would give them to Toys for Tots or some other organization. Well last year as a committee we sat down and had some conversations because we realized some of our staff members and their families would fall into the category of families who qualify for assistance through programs like Toys for Tots. So we decided to start the Adopt-A-Family Initiative to see who we could help and make a difference.”
Sherrigan Feaster, assistant director of Central campus and committee chairwoman of Department of University Housing SET, and Stephanie Carter-Smith, were the main leaders when developing the We Care Adopt-A-Family program.
The process begins in mid-October, when applications go out.
“People on custodial, maintenance, and others on housing staff apply in mid-October. Children ages 16 and under tell their parents what they need, and the parent fills it out on the application,” Feaster says.
After applications are turned in, certain departments within housing such as IT, the business department, Central campus, and etc. raise money to help sponsor these families.
Kristan Cardinali, Resident Life Coordinator of Patterson Hall, and her staff of Resident Mentors will participate in the We Care program this year. Each staff member will donate a couple dollars and put it towards the program.
Cardinali says, “This is a great method. My staff won't know who which particular family they are donating to, and the family receiving the gifts won't know which particular resident or staff member gave it to them. It will just be from University Housing as a whole. This is a great method for confidentiality, and makes the We Care Program much more special.”
Along with Patterson Hall staff, other residence halls and departments will participate. The more money We Care receives, results in more families being sponsored by University Housing.
After the departments collect the money, they go shopping to buy and wrap what is requested on the application the recipients previously filled out in October. A holiday lunch is held in December in which the families pick up their wrapped presents a few days before Christmas.
Sally Gownes has been working for University Housing custodial staff for over 29 years. She is now the custodial supervisor for Honors, McBryde, South, East, and West Quads. Gownes had a lot to do with the program as well.
“I do have employees that have told me in the past, 'During the Christmas holidays, I do not have enough the money to get anything for my kids.' This program helps them out. I love that we are able to do this for them,” Gownes says.
Gownes employees' are so thankful for this oppportunity, and it is truly a blessing that they don't have to struggle as much during the holiday season. Gownes said that being able to lift weight off parents' shoulders and help “our own” is the best feeling ever.
“Luckily we raised enough money last year so that no one was left out. We got to sponsor fifteen families, which is about eighty five kids, and that's huge for us,” Feaster says.
According to Carter-Smith, "this shows members in our Department just how appreciated and valued they are. We can’t pass out Christmas bonuses like you see in the movies but the Department can do this. Last year we got an overwhelming amount of support and this year we are hoping for tons more since we have more families who have applied to be in the program.”
Gownes said that when she started working for Housing many years ago, her supervisor told her that they were a family. The legacy of We Care shows that each department is here for each other, just like a family.
A season of hope, a season of giving, and a season of thankfulness. Christmas for USC's maintenance, custodial staff, and other housing staff is looking brighter and will continue to improve for years to come, thanks to University Housing.
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