Trojan alumni work to open ‘Care Closet’

Two graduating classes from Hot Springs World Class High School joined forced ahead of their class reunions to give back to their alma mater in a more permanent fashion.

The classes of 1999 and 2009 recently started a Care Closet at the high school, stocked with essential hygiene products, clothing and nonperishable food. They chose to complete a service project for the school to celebrate their 20- and 10-year class reunions.

“For class reunions, we usually do a service project. We had a lot of suggestions for projects … I felt we should do something that lasts years on end instead of something tempo

rary. You plant flowers, they die. You pull weeds and they grow back, but the Care Closet is something that I thought would last all year round and for years to come,” said Steven Simms with the Class of 1999.

Simms contacted Tristan Traylor from the Class of 2009 to partner with his class on the project since they are also celebrating their class reunion this year. Traylor said it was a divine blessing.

“It’s an impact that everyone can be involved in on every economic level. You can be involved with just 50 cents or just the stuff in your closet,” Traylor said.

“There was a need in the community. Reflecting back to when we were in high school, think about friends who may have needed that little extra but were too embarrassed or too ashamed to actually (ask for help). This takes away the embarrassment and the stigma,” he said.

The Care Closet allows students to come on an anonymous basis to get whatever they may need. Traylor said this helps keep the student’s dignity and confidence intact.

The two classes stocked the closet with basic day-today items students may need. Students can take anything from bath soap and a towel to clothes for a job interview from the closet.

“Some are homeless. Some are in between different houses where they have to pick up and leave in the middle of the night without the chance to grab their things. They can come to the Care Closet and get everything they need,” Traylor said.

Simms said students enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program and EAST will continuously work to keep the Care Closet stocked as part of the service projects they are required to participate in annually. He said he also hopes the community will embrace the Care Closet and make it part of their charitable giving.

“We are asking the community to either contribute financially or through donations. You can bring things like soap, detergent, deodorant, shampoo. Anything that you use on a regular basis in your home that a kid may need,” Simms said.

“The main goal of this is giving future generations something to strive for. I know that for my class, and for Steven’s class, coming up with that service project can be a difficult thing to do. This will open up the door for future classes to give back each year,” Traylor said.