26 Apr 2010 Students show classmates, community how much they care

“One of the best things about being a sponsor for Caring Cats is the high school kids really embrace the special needs kids,” said Cheryl. “Very few kids on campus don’t know all of their names.” 

The program allows the special needs students to interact with other high school students in class and outside of school. On any given day, the two sets of kids can be found playing basketball or walking around together in physical education class. 

“A member of the Caring Cats Club is paired with a special needs child for P.E. class,” explained Cheryl. “They spend the class period being their buddy, whether that means playing basketball, helping them shoot a ball, or simply spending time with them.”

Every year, the high school nominates “Mr. Wampus Cat” during basketball season, and this year the title unanimously went to Trevion Stephens, a special needs member of the Caring Cats Club and an avid basketball player. 

Apart from being a natural at the sport, Trevion spends one-on-one time several hours a week with Preston Purifoy, one of Conway High’s top basketball players. The support for Trevion is testament to the real difference Caring Cats has made in the perspectives of so many students at Conway High. 

“Most of the leaders in the student body have become our biggest advocates,” said Cheryl.

Not only has the Caring Cats initiative benefited special needs children, it has also been a huge force in the local community. Since its beginning, the club has organized several community service events to help the less fortunate.

“We took the club members to a nursing home to play games with the residents,” said Cheryl, “There was a group of 80 and I think they were all really surprised at how much fun they had. The residents enjoyed them immensely.”  
Angel Paws is the group’s biggest event of the year. “We provide Christmas gifts for literally hundreds of kids,” said Cheryl. “This year, we had about 60 families and collected well over 1,000 gifts.”

Perhaps the most anticipated event is the annual cereal drive, sponsored by Little Rock TV station KTHV. Conway won the senior high division with a total of 1,877 boxes of cereal.

In the fall, Caring Cats hosts the Powder Puff Gang event where the senior girls face the junior girls to raise money for the food bank under Neighborhood Youth Foundation.  The club also has an ongoing food collection and raises money to buy turkeys for families at Thanksgiving. 

According to Cheryl, there are very few days that go by without a request for a need.  “When we have a need, the kids are ready to help,” she explained. At one point last year, someone needed a refrigerator. They called a couple of kids to arrange a truck and the kids took out time on their Saturday to help out a family in need. 

“When you expect more from kids, you get more. These kids are willing to go above and beyond, which is creating a great foundation for them to carry to their communities.”