This winter, the New Trier High School administration, adviseries, and clubs are working with the Northwestern University Settlement House (NUSH) to help 93 families in need through its annual Holiday Program. According to the Student Activities Coordinator and the Student Council Head Sponsor Stacy Kolack, this is the highest number of families New Trier has offered to help compared to recent years. 

With over 130 years of working toward its mission to combat poverty within the Chicago area, NUSH serves nearly 20,000 individuals annually. For New Trier, one of the ways they can annually help those 20,000 individuals is through NUSH’s Holiday Program, where donations are gifted to families in need. The New Trier administration, adviseries, and clubs then have the opportunity, beginning in October, to sign up and “adopt a family” for the Holiday Program. 

When groups sign up to adopt a family, the entire group works together to fundraise to buy and wrap holiday gifts for their assigned family.

This year, student council has fundraised through selling food from local restaurants. 

“The NUSH process is a really great tradition for student Council because it gives us something really meaningful to work towards for the first half of the year,” student council leader Matthew Slater wrote via email. “Each year, we try to sponsor a larger family and raise more than the year before. We run fundraisers through the first semester starting in September and ending in November. This year we did three Dairy Queen Blizzard sales and one Lou Malnati’s pizza sale, and it was our most successful year yet.” 

With personal donations from student council members and help from sponsors, student council sponsored a family of six, which, according to Slater, is the largest family they’ve helped so far. 

“It’s really great to see how generous and dedicated StuCo members are to the cause, and it’s really a moment when we all come together,” Slater wrote. “This year was our best year yet, and I am so proud of everything we have accomplished. NUSH is a really great way to give back to the community, and I am so happy we are able to help in this way,”

Additionally, this year, adviseries have worked together to fundraise though activities such as bake sales.

“Working as a team to raise the funds to do something really nice for somebody else…that’s the main takeaway for [my advisees],” sophomore adviser and library faculty member Marc Garneau said.

After fundraising, adviseries and clubs begin shopping for their assigned family according to a wishlist they receive when they get their assigned family. 

“[The New Trier administration] talks through everything with NUSH,” Kolack said. “They provide [New Trier] with family info, such as a wishlist of items and general guidelines for recommended spending.” 

Then, adviseries work together to wrap the gifts and load them into trucks for families from New Trier.

This year, the loading dates are Dec. 10-11. The adviser chairs and graduating class principals help load trucks. 

While adviseries and clubs purchase gifts for the families they are paired with, they do not interact with the families themselves. 

“[The New Trier administration wants] to respect the dignity of the families,” Kolack said. “Knowing that you’re helping someone going through a hard time is enough.”

According to the Director of Support Services at NUSH and the leader of the Holiday Program, Yasmin Rodriguez, the effort of New Trier students fuels the program. 

“Through [students’] efforts, [they] provide warmth, stability, dignity and a reminder that even without knowing each other personally, we’re all in this together,” Rodriguez said. “That is truly magical.”