The Winter Cares Service Project, a collaboration between WS National Honor Society (NHS) and the WS Leadership Program, was organized as a school-wide initiative to support families in the wider community around the winter holidays, making it one of the largest service projects of the 2025-2026 school year.
By working with community liaisons, the sponsors of NHS and Leadership worked to identify families in need surrounding WS. These families then provided wishlists that WS students and staff could anonymously sign up to fulfill, collaborating to make a difference in their lives. NHS members and Leadership students met to wrap the gifts and items, which were later distributed to their respective families. NHS reported a total of 623 gifts and $1,650 worth in gift cards donated.
The project was reimagined through a look back at the most impactful NHS initiatives in years past.
“When we were thinking about and brainstorming service projects, I think probably where I thought the NHS made one of their biggest impacts as an organization on our community from years past was through this Winter Cares project,” said NHS co-sponsor Tamara Ogden. “When the officers seemed interested, we just thought it’d be a great way for such a large organization to be able to harness the school’s generosity and work with the leadership kids to do something good for our greater community.”
NHS co-sponsor Beth Leone hopes this project positively impacts the relationship between the organization and the wider community surrounding the school.
“I’d like somebody to say ‘oh we need help’ [and] ‘oh I know who we can ask,’” said NHS co-sponsor Beth Leone. “Not just ‘oh these are the kids with a certain GPA’ but ‘this is a group with a heart for service and wanting to help others.’”
The NHS organization bases their activity in four pillars: scholarship, leadership, service, and character. NHS president Adham Elbaragah feels this project strongly exemplifies those values.
“The pillar of service is, in my opinion, the most important of the four NHS pillars. Service represents the NHS, and however much service we do in our community truly is what our reputation relies on,” said Elbaragah. “The Winter Service Project then combines that pillar
of service with the uniqueness of helping families across our community during the holidays to ensure that every family is given the opportunity of receiving the empathy and hard work of the NHS.”
However, it was not the NHS alone that organized its entirety. Leadership teacher Elizabeth Murphy also played a role in bringing the initiative to life.
“Being a part of something that directly supports kids in our own WS community feels incredibly meaningful. It’s a reminder that even small acts of generosity can make a real difference in someone’s life, especially during a time of year when feeling seen and supported matters so much,” said Murphy. “Knowing that our efforts will help families feel cared for, valued, and less alone makes the work feel purposeful. It brings our school community closer together and shows us what can happen when people choose kindness and step up for one another.”
In addition to the collaboration between NHS and Leadership, groups outside organizations within WS made up a large portion of the donations to the families in need.
“I hope that it’s an opportunity for so many different organizations, activities, groups, faculty, staff, students, to all be able to come together and do something great as a community,” said Ogden. “I also hope it gives us the opportunity to build some relationships with community groups that will continue on with Leadership and NHS for the rest of the school year.”
Elbaragah has high hopes for the December NHS meeting, in which members will engage in a “wrapping party.”
“This [December] meeting will be probably our most impactful meeting this year,” said Elbaragah. “We will be wrapping and packing as many presents as we can for the families in need.”
Ogden believes that the memories made through community service can have long-lasting impacts on students.
“[I want students to say] ‘don’t you remember when we drank hot chocolate and wrapped all those gifts after school until five o’clock?’” said Ogden. “[It’s] to create those memories that I think transcend.”
Leone hopes that students draw value from their participation.
“[I hope students take away] the ability to see other people and notice what they need and to be thankful for what you have. Because we do live in a very blessed zone and so just to have gratitude for that and look for ways to help others,” said Leone.
Moving forward, the NHS looks to increasingly engage with the wider community in meaningful ways.
“I think one of our goals for the NHS [is] more forward thinking about the idea of how we can look out for the needs of others and then help meet those needs,” said Leone. “Not just keeping it locked into NHS or only to leadership, but to work as a Spartan community to take care of each other and then those on the borders of the community.”
