A desire to assist others

Helping out the community is not new for 2020 PCM graduate Blake Van Der Kamp, and this time, through his organizer the Samson-Curtis Drive, the preschool classes are benefiting. Supplies for every preschool student were donated by the Drive, with support from an anonymous donor for the 2020-21 school year.

“The Samson-Curtis Drive has been consistently developing and progressing since it was founded in June of 2019, however, the idea of donating to the entirety of the PCM preschool class came to light as an anonymous donor within the local community expressed their desire to donate,” Van Der Kamp said. “While I may only speculate on the reasons for the donations, I suspect that their desire and passion for assisting others runs deep as it does within the PCM community.”

The supplies, including folders, binders, crayons, glue sticks, paint and markers, were almost all acquired from the anonymous donor. They support all preschool classes at Monroe and Prairie City Elementaries and were handed out during the open house night.

“In total, there were school supplies provided to an estimated 26 students at Prairie City Elementary and 32 students at Monroe Elementary,” Van Der Kamp said.

With the community currently in an unprecedented pandemic, Van Der Kamp said there has been an unfortunate series of layoffs and job terminations leaving some individuals struggling to find food to put on the table, pay bills for the roof over their head and even school supplies for their children. It hit home when he was working at a school supply drive and encountered an individual who had recently been laid off from their job.

“As they came to find school supplies, they expressed the hardships within their life and how their life had experienced a complete 180-degree turn. They felt sorrowful throughout their time there as if they didn’t deserve to be helped within that moment,” Van Der Kamp said. Until a Samson-Curtis Drive volunteer expressed the true message of what the project is: ‘To do what we can, With what we have, Where we are.’ The Samson-Curtis Drive doesn’t resonate with one singular audience, but we are here to raise up all of our fellow peers, friends and families during their time of need.”

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com