By KATIE WISELY
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
CareLikeCate is a club at Westfield High School dedicated to spreading positivity, good news and joy. The club is collecting toys for Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in memory of a special five-year-old little girl.
Her name is Cate Weglarz. She passed away from an unknown illness in January 2019 at the hospital. Her sister Sarah and cousin Allie wanted to do something in her memory, so they decided to create a service club at their high school.
Westfield students Allie Hopp (left) and Sarah Welgarz are running a toy drive now through Dec. 18. Their group, CareLikeCate, was created in memory of Sarah’s younger sister (and Allie’s cousin) Cate, who passed away from an unknown illness in January 2019. (Photo provided)
Sarah and Allie say the name of the club wasn’t hard to come by. Cate radiated with positivity, encouragement and joy at such a young age.
The toy drive has been running since Nov. 20 and so far, they have collected 130 items. That’s the total number of items they collected last year and the drive just started. They’re looking for things like baby items, toy sets, stuffed animals and blankets. It runs until Dec. 18.
Both girls say it’s a way to bring a smile to a child who needs it.
“It’s scary being in the hospital as a kid and not knowing what the doctors and nurses are doing,” Cate’s sister, Sarah Weglarz said. “So, I think something like that definitely brings a sense of comfort and just kind of calms them down a little bit.”
“We hope that when we give them these toys, that it can take their mind off of it a little bit too,” Cate’s cousin Allie Hopp said. “When they are playing, they return to just being a kid and not in a hospital.”
The group is also partnered with another service club at Westfield High School. They’re collecting face masks and winter coats for a nonprofit called Open Doors. It provides food and clothes for those in the community. Student donations can be dropped off in person at the high school. For other members of the community who want to donate, there is an Amazon Wish List.
The club also holds a T-shirt fundraiser. They have donated $2,000 to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in years past.