PLAINFIELD —  

The Plainfield Quarterback Club and sophomore place-kicker Morgan Hagee partnered with local businesses to raise funds for Kendra’s Call for Komfort.

“This summer, me and my family were at Metropolis to get some ice cream,” Hagee said. “Relay for Life was going on and I saw some of my friends there. They were on a team with Kendra’s Call for Komfort. The back of their T-shirts said ‘kick it’ and the slogan matched what I do.”

Kendra’s Call for Komfort is a local foundation that donates comfortable clothes and other items to children who are undergoing cancer treatment at Payton Manning Children’s Hospital and Riley Children’s Hospital.

Hagee thought it over and decided he would like to get some sponsors and raise funds for the organization.

“I thought I could get some companies to donate every time I make an extra point or field goal,” he said.

Do It Best Hardware of Plainfield, TKO Graphics, and Monarch Charitable Foundation jumped on board and donated each time Hagee made points kicking for the Plainfield High School football team.

“We were able to raise $2,960 during the season,” he said. “I had no idea we would raise that much money. I was hoping to make at least $500.”

Hagee said he’s been around football for as long as he can remember.

“I’ve been playing since the fourth grade but my dad was the kicking coach at Plainfield for a long time,” he said.

His parents, Mark and Lori Hagee, have been very supportive of their son’s project. The family attends Plainfield Bible Church. He also has a younger brother, Jon, 13, who is an eighth-grader at Plainfield Community Middle School. He is the kicker for his school’s football team as well.

“I would love to thank my sponsors,” Hagee said. “Without them, the amount of money we raised would not have been possible.”

Kendra’s Call for Komfort was started by Kendra Springs, a sixth-grader at St. Susanna School in Plainfield. She is undergoing treatment for neuroblastoma, a form of cancer.

She is the daughter of Clark and Julia Springs and has three brothers: Cooper, 9; Spencer, 7; and Sullivan, 4.

“Kendra was diagnosed in April of 2011,” Julia Springs said. “She’s all about fashion and when she saw the hospital gowns she thought it was horrible. Kendra wanted to start the foundation to give care packages to other kids. We’re so excited about the ‘Kick It’ program. It’s helping us with awareness and getting the word out there.”

She said her daughter is very humble and doesn’t like to be in the spotlight, but loves that she’s getting to help so many children.

“And a year and a half later and we are still going to the hospital,” she said. “We’ve been able to see first hand some of the care packages going to these deserving kids. It’s important to have something to make the kids smile.”

Springs said she’s hoping the “Kick It” program expands into other area school districts.

Kendra’s Call for Komfort now has a student board that helped to organize the project with Hagee and the Plainfield Quarterback Club.

The football season is now over, but there are more opportunities for the community to help support the foundation. The next fundraiser will be Milk and Cookies with Santa from 2 to 5 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Interurban Train Depot at 401 S. Vine St., Plainfield.

The event is a suggested donation of $10 for those who come and get a photo with Santa. There will also be raffle items and baskets, crafts for children, and shopping opportunities. There will be representatives from Thirty-One, Sentsy, Stella and Dot, Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Silpada, Usborne Books, and Tastefully Simple. Each business representative will be donating a portion of their profits to Kendra’s Call for Komfort.

For more information, visit the website at Kendrascallforkomfort.org or visit it on Facebook or Twitter.

brenda.holmes@flyergroup.com