As a new way to celebrate homecoming, organizations across Lake Ridge will participate together for the first-ever Red Wagon Parade, set to take place during advisory October 30. Tasked with one item, each group fills up their wagon to donate to the MISD Clothes Closet. When approached with the idea, Student Council Advisor, Hannah Stinson, found a way to combine homecoming week with the drive.

“I had never heard of a Red Wagon Parade before. My favorite things that Student Council does are things where we give back to the community. And I like that this way we can combine school spirit, get all the groups together, and we can decorate the wagons and we can give back to the community,” said Stinson.

The MISD Clothes Closet provides items to families by holding different drives to collect items ranging from clothes to deodorant. MISD Clothes Closet recently attending the celebration for its 20th year anniversary, continues to grow support. Sharon Sullivan is the Ben Barber/FHS PTSA President, LRHS PTSA Advocacy Chair, and MISD Council of PTAs 3rd VP Communications. For the past decade, Sullivan involves herself with Clothes Closet. With new ways to raise awareness for donation drives, Sullivan is excited about what Lake Ridge has in store.

“Having a theme at Lake Ridge, dedicated to that, I absolutely love it because it brings more attention to the needs and awareness and hopefully more participation from students and families. So, I think that’s an excellent idea, it’s nice because I just think something like a red wagon theme will bring tremendous awareness,” said Sullivan. 

The son of Sharron Sullivan, Collin Sullivan, senior, is the Clothes Closet Chair for FHS/Ben Barber Innovation Academy PTSA. Collins has followed in his mom’s footsteps to participate in PTSA since freshman year. Sullivan sees this as an opportunity to bring people together for a single cause. 

“It helps out the community with the drives. It helps out everybody in the district, not just Lake Ridge and the Ben Barber students,” said Sullivan. 

Organizations including JROTC, Journalism, Core Classes, and Electives have joined the parade. Ann Guffey, Intro to Culinary teacher, and Donna Davis, Family Consumer Science Teacher, work together to fill up their wagon. Guffey entices her class to contribute with rewarding incentives. 

“I think it’s important for school spirit and for our community to come together and get students involved in something bigger than just the class. The class that brings the most supplies gets to have a free cook day. So they kind of get to have a party where they cook whatever they want. I think it’s great, we should always be trying to do new things and find ways we can help each other out.”

Davis uses this event as a way to gain involvement in her class. 

“We just thought it would be a really fun idea to try to get our classes involved in doing some philanthropic work. I’m just trying to encourage them to do something good for others,” said Davis. 

Although this is the first Red Wagon Parade, the school is preparing to make it an annual event. In hopes to make up for the changes Homecoming will face this year, new traditions arise to garner student participation. Stinson is already excited for the organizations that signed up to walk the parade with their decorated wagons. 

“I think it’s so important if every organization can be involved in doing something. The more that people can see every group doing stuff, the more that they’re going to want to be involved to do things,” said Stinson.