National Honors Society members, as well as other Millard West students, volunteered at JCPenney at Westroads Mall to help Operation School Bell from Oct. 5 – 20. Students took on different roles for the day to help lower-income families shop for their children to get clothes for the upcoming winter months.

Through the Assistance League of Omaha (ALO), OSB is able to help 3500+ children shop for brand new clothes for school and other items such as new books. A number of students are chosen from a variety of schools around the Omaha area. Those who are in need of the most financial support are picked by their school to participate in the program.

Paula Peal, sixth Vice President of education for ALO, was one of the directors of this mission. She reached out to the community to find volunteers willing to help this cause, especially high school students.

“It started out having our students be translators for the parents who did not speak English,” Peal said. “But we found that the students from high schools enjoyed doing this and helping out shopping assistance as well so we gladly let them continue to help our organization.”

These high school students were tasked with the title of personal shopper. Each volunteer was stationed in specific sectors of the store such as boys or girls clothing and shoes. They then were given a scanner, calculator and notepad to help families keep track of their fixed expenses, which were determined by the amount of financial aid needed. Kids would run up to the volunteers waiting with excitement to see how much they had left to spend.

Peal personally reached out to principal Dr. Greg Tiemann about this volunteer opportunity who then reached out to a number of clubs at Millard West, including National Honors Society (NHS). When NHS advisor Stacey Kozisek heard about it, she wasted no time jumping at the opportunity to give it to her members. 

“The members will hopefully create new friendships with families and students within the area,” Kozisek said. “I hope it increases their appreciation for the diverse needs within the community and a desire to continue to help those less fortunate.”

One student eagerly signed up for the program and was able to be one of many who enjoyed donating their time to the OSB cause. It was senior Macy Klein’s first time volunteering for OSB with ALO. While it wasn’t the most eventful experience, she still hopes to continue to help the organization in the future.

“The best feeling was helping them add up their total and watching their faces when they realized they had so much money left,” Klein said. “I would love to volunteer again because it was fun, rewarding and I was really making a difference.”

Volunteering will continue up to Oct. 20. By then, the ALO hopes to have helped 4000 children to ensure they have the clothing they need to have a successful rest of the school year. NHS members hope to keep their partnership with the Assistance League of Omaha to gain more opportunities to gain their hours while bettering their community at the same time.