As the holiday season approaches, a magical feeling fills the air. The spirit of giving, of hope and of love rings out for all to hear. Hearing this call, 2007 Freedom graduate Katie Prest embraced the spirit of generosity as she orchestrated, along with many others, a large donation to the high school. Prest, who now owns a photography company, and other benefactors made many donations to the Bulldog Boutique. The Bulldog Boutique is a small organization within the high school that has clothes of every kind as well as necessities for students that are free of charge for those in need. Prest could not do it alone, however, as she gained the support of more than 20 others. Many of whom were other Freedom alums with graduating years ranging from 1981 to 2014. Prest and the others donated several bags of clothes as well as blankets, personal hygiene products such as deodorant and more. The larger portion of the donation was the financial contribution to student lunch debt. When students cannot afford lunches, those students can rack up a lunch debt to the school. Prest and the others raised over $1,600 to pay off all of the outstanding debt for students in need.
“It’s no secret times are tough right now for us all. We wanted to do something to lessen the burden to as many families in the most effective way we could,” Prest said.
Every year, Prest holds a Santa photo shoot at McKinney’s Farm Market in honor of Ms. McKinney. Prest is inspired to donate by her grandmother and also by McKinney. The photo shoot helped Prest raise money. According to Prest, getting people to donate was the easy part of the operation, saying she just utilized social media.
“I know a lot of good people and I’m still in contact with many alumni, and they were eager to help. I opened up my Santa shoot to collect donations as well. It was very touching to see how everyone came together so quickly,” Prest said.
Keeping the goal in mind, Prest and the others were able to traverse any obstacles along the way by remembering their motivations behind why they were doing what they were doing. Prest believes that the holidays are always a good time to do something extra, but that charity can take place at any time.
“There’s no way I could have done this alone. I had so much help from brainstorming, donations, setting up, tearing down, getting the word out, you name it. I can’t stress enough how good of a community we have,” Prest said.
From a cycle of giving that goes from community to student and then to graduate to community, the dedication Prest and many others share with their alma mater makes it possible for many students to have a less stressful and more full education at Freedom.