The drill team did more than just dance on Thursday They came together for their annual team volunteering, showing spirit, & leadership for the holiday season. For the second year in a row the drill team volunteered to help create a holiday mood for the residents of the Samaritan Inn.
“We are the largest homeless shelter in Collin County,” Samaritan Inn employee Cheryl Spofford said. “We have men, women, and families that live here and make it their home. Most people live here between six and nine months at a time were people that have lived and worked in collin county and something has happened in their life that has caused them to become homeless so we’re here to provide with basic things.”
For an organization running a shelter, thrift store, business office, apartment complexes and now a food pantry, a staff of 60 needs all the help they can get.
“With only 60 staff members we do not have the ability to have all the things that need to be done,” Spofford said. “So the volunteers really are able to step in and help in all different kinds of ways just bringing fun, but also they help restock and do inventory for things like that.”
Organization for this event is student led, from reaching out to deciding the activities they can do to help.
“We worked at the Samaritan Inn before so we already had the email that we needed to talk to them,” senior Aditi Shah said. “So we knew how to get into contact with them so I emailed them and was like ‘hey were very interested in volunteering with ya’ll again’ and then we discussed the details of how and when it would happen, what time and what we would be doing, all that stuff.”
Dance teacher Nicole Nothe believes volunteering as a team is essential to the students.
“Coming to the Samaritan Inn and volunteering opens up our eyes to possibilities how we can serve our community, “ Nothe said. “This is a really fun activity for the girls, they get to make things for the people that are living here temporarily and it’s a great opportunity for them to serve the community as a team.”
