Thurston High students will complete 300 hours of volunteering to give family $3,000

Cheers erupted from Thurston High School stands as 16-year-old Sam Lockard burst through a Colts banner, welcomed as the school's first "sparrow."

Few eyes were dry in the gymnasium as Lockard was brought to the center, surrounded by the Thurston welcome team, cheer and dance squads. Lockard himself became emotionally overwhelmed.

"It was overwhelming, but in a really great way," said Lockard's mom, Jen Clason.

Lockard was selected to be Thurston's "sparrow" through Sparrow Clubs of Willamette Valley, a nonprofit that gives funding to local youth to help them pay for medical bills and other essentials. This was Thurston's first year working with the organization.

Thurston is the first public high school to work with Sparrow Clubs in the Eugene/Springfield area. There are Sparrow Clubs chapters in other states including Arizona. Julie Burket, Willamette Valley director, said Sparrow Clubs already have a significant presence in southern Oregon and Bend.

The Willamette Valley branch is still gaining momentum, going on its second year since it was established. The group expanded to eight schools in Eugene/Springfield and Salem this year, but Burket said they're hoping to grow even more next year.

Meet Sam

During Thurston High's assembly to welcome Lockard and talk about the Sparrow Club, students and staff put a twist on their normal chant, yelling "Who's house? Sam's house!" three times.

Lockard was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 4. He had to relearn how to walk and talk. Although he is now in recovery and cancer-free, Lockard still has medications and therapies with high costs. Clason said they will use the money to transform their porch to make it accessible for Lockard's use.

"When he was younger, having his mom help him up and down the stairs every single time wasn't that big of a deal, but he's 16," Clason said. "He wants to be able to go out to the school bus by himself in the morning, and he can't do that with our current setup. The money will go toward that, just making the house more accessible for his independence."

Lockard, who is a sophomore at Sheldon High School in the Transition Education Network program, was excited to be at Thurston Thursday. When he and his family entered the school, he was greeted by two dozen students, representing different clubs to welcome him to the school and show him to the auditorium.

Lockard was especially excited after meeting MJ Maraia, a junior who is the outreach director and student representative of the robotics club. Robotics have been a longtime interest of his.

Everyone involved said the assembly was a huge success.

"We've made 'Caring, Brave, Prepared' our slogan because that's what we want to see in this school," Maraia said. "High schoolers aren't necessarily known for their empathy … so I'm really proud of everyone. Just because, I don't know, people aren't always that nice. Today, I feel like it felt genuine."

As Lockard exited the school, students stopped him, asking how he was, and encouraging him to come back to attend club activities and competitions.

"It's a big to-do for our sparrows, so he was really overwhelmed, but I'm so thankful that he was excited to be here and was brave enough to share his story," Burket said.

Clason said she hopes they return to Thurston for more events. They're thinking about coming to an upcoming robotics meet.

How does the sparrow funding work?

Each sparrow and their family are given $3,000, which is donated mainly through local businesses and community sponsors. Recently, Sparrow Clubs received a $10,000 donation from Hayden Homes and First Story. It does not cost the schools anything to host a sparrow.

The money isn't given to the families immediately. The students need to help "unlock" the funds.

Sparrow Clubs' mission is to spread compassion through kindness and community service. They ask the participating schools' students to help by doing community service. At Thurston, every hour of community service earns Lockard's family $10, so they asked the students to complete 300 total hours of community service this year.

"When we're talking to our students, it's never about fundraising," Burket said.

Maraia said the robotics club last week completed 79 hours of community service in two days, so this mission should be easy to complete for the school, which has more than 1,000 students.

"It gives back so much more," Maraia said. "When I found out that it was going to be someone who had cancer, it made me feel like, 'OK, I'm all in on this,' because my mom actually went through all of the chemo, and she's the strongest person I know. And I know that everyone (close to them) has to deal with that."

Clason said she is impressed by the students, who are including everyone in their community, regardless of ability. She said it gives her hope for the future.

"Sam is such a sweet kid," Maraia said. "Getting to meet him today, it just reinforces the fact that this is something that I can do, I can help.

"Why wouldn't I give back?"

Eugene/Springfield schools hosting Sparrow Clubs this year include City First Academy, Eugene Christian School, Irving Elementary, Elizabeth Page Elementary, Hamlin Middle School and Thurston High School. In Salem, hosts include Parrish Middle School, South Salem High School and West Salem High School.

If you're interested in learning more about Sparrow Clubs, visit www.sparrowclubs.org or email julie@sparrowclubs.org.

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Thurston High students will do volunteer work to help family