EPCHS Cheerleaders Bring 'Christmas In July' With Toy Drive For Advocate Children's

EVERGREEN PARK, IL – The cheerleaders at Evergreen Park Community High School took the lead on a community service project that brought in more than 100 toy donations as a way to lift the spirits of the young patients at Advocate Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn.

EPCHS' cheerleading team takes part in a community service project every year. This past summer, they decided to reach out to cheerleading teams at other schools taking part in the National Cheerleaders Association Skillz Camp to help make this year's project even more special.

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"One of our assistant coaches brought up that since we were attending the camp on July 25, halfway to Christmas, that we should do a toy drive," EPCHS cheerleading Head Coach Rachael Mayo said. "We wanted to select a local hospital so we could impact our community in a positive way.

"We reached out to the development department at Advocate. They said that since they get a huge influx of donations around the winter holidays, that summer is the perfect time for us to do this."

With help from donations gathered by the cheerleading teams at Lemont, Lockport, Lincoln-Way Central high schools and Wheaton Academy, the drive brought in 107 toys that the EPCHS cheerleaders and coaching staff later personally delivered to the hospital.

"I don't know if our girls saw the full impact of what we were doing until we brought the toys to the hospital and saw how thankful the staff was," Mayo said. "That's when I think they realized what this is going toward, and that there's a tangible benefit."

For EPCHS cheerleader Kassidy Butler, a junior, the drive brought to light "a brighter purpose and bigger picture."

"Bringing joy to others, especially these kids who are going through a lot, feels exciting. It's good to wake up and know that you did something good for the kids," Butler said.

Natalia Porroga, another junior EPCHS cheerleader, added that "it felt really nice for us to help these kids, and know that it wasn't just us, but cheerleaders from other schools as well who wanted to join in."

Mayo said her group of 25 cheerleaders gathered the donations before the camp held outside Timothy Christian High School in Elmhurst.

"The girls all had on Christmas hats and bows, and we had Christmas music playing," Mayo said. "It's important that we give back to the community in ways like these and spread kindness when we can."

Previous year's service projects for EPCHS cheerleading have included volunteering at different charitable walks and helping out at the Evergreen Park Recreation Department.

"This (toy drive) is the biggest endeavor we've taken on," she said. "And we're already planning on doing it again and trying to make it even better next summer."

~ Contributed by Tim Moran, EPCHS Feature Writer