Ethan Bloom '24
The few weeks that we spend at Cate around the holidays are often disliked by Cate students, to say the least. Before November break, students are focused on their end of trimester grades, and after, the three week turnaround before Winter break is littered with tests and assessments. There is little buzz of holiday cheer around campus. However, one of the cherished traditions that stands out is Cate’s yearly Holiday Cheer drive.
Each year, Cate sponsors 4-6 families in need. This year, Cate sponsored six families, the most we have ever sponsored. Holiday Cheer relies on the planning and organization of eight to ten seniors who volunteer their time. These seniors, in addition to the basketball teams, help raise awareness and go around in dorms collecting donations in the form of cash, gift cards, lightly used clothes and toys, and other household items. This year, over $1,400 dollars were raised from the Cate students and faculty members, in addition to donations in the form of clothes, and toys.
Something that makes Holiday Cheer so special is that whatever is raised is needed. The items on the list are not items that the families want, but items that the families need. This year, when delivering to a family of four, the family was living out of a room that they rented inside a house. When giving the donations to families, Director of Community Engagement Will Holmes, who has been doing holiday cheer for almost twenty years, describes the experience as "grounding," and giving perspective that many of us don't have on a daily basis.
For students that participate in Holiday Cheer, it is a perspective that makes a lasting impact. Mr. Holmes said of his son, Scott, who graduated in 2020, that he asked for just a few of his own gifts and for the rest to be given away after experiencing Holiday Cheer. For Emmett Mack '23, Holiday Cheer has provided a chance to give back to the community that had done so much for him. He believes that regardless of whether or not students have grown up locally, the Carpinteria community has impacted all of us in unique ways, and Holiday Cheer helps raise awareness of the poverty that is often kept secret in Carp.
Holiday Cheer is more than just feeling like you have done a good deed. It makes an impact on the community we live in, and the students who participate. For the greater Cate community, It's through practicing giving back that we deal with the stress that comes with the holidays. But it also indicates the attitude of the people that make up this school. Students find comfort in taking care of others and in giving to those less fortunate. Holiday Cheer doesn't change lives, but what it does is help people, says Mr. Holmes.
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