McCullough is a beloved junior high school that feeds into The Woodlands High School. However, up until 1996, it was one of only two high schools in Conroe ISD. Still, there are many residents of The Woodlands who carry the legacy of McCullough High School with them. From this, a group of McCullough High School alumni came together to give back to the community that once fostered them.
The Big McC Club is a group of McCullough High School alumni that wanted to come together and raise money for a local charity that focuses on helping members of the community. “I saw this great need for people to raise money and the organization, the board, does a good job, but I also knew I had this network of friends,” Jo Ann Linzer, president and founder of the club says. She began contacting some people that she went to high school with; many of whom she kept in contact with, and many former classmates that supported her while she was running for district judge. “I kind of thought, ‘how good would it be if we could harness that and all of these people get together and try and raise money for a charity that needs it?’” she explains.
The local charity they have been supporting is called Family Promise, an organization that helps to house and support homeless families, for the last three years. And, over these last three years, the Big McC Club has raised up to $70,000 for them. According to Benny Landrum, a Big McC Club member, there are “a little over 13,000 children right here, in Montgomery County, that identify as homeless.” Family Promise’s 90 day program teaches the single parent of these families how to budget, how to find a job, and to learn general life skills. “The goal of the program is to teach independence,” explains Mrs. Linzer, “to allow people to not have to depend on anyone else for housing, transportation, or anything financial in regards to their lives.” And, according to Mr. Landrum, 14,000 people have gone through the Family Promise program, with only 5% of them relapsing.
“It’s challenging because most of the families that we service are mainly women with children that are facing homelessness,” says Mrs. Linzer, with the term ‘homeless’ meaning anything from living on the street to living in a car to living on family member’s couches. “There have been kids that I’ve talked to,” shares Mrs. Linzer, “and they can’t wait for me to go see their bed because they’ve never had one before.”
They work with multiple organizations to make this happen, including other local charities, churches, and businesses to help support and teach these families. Some of these charities and external organizations include ones that help liberate women and their children from abusive households. “A lot of these women depend on their spouse or their partner in order to pay bills and have a roof over their head and a car, so that’s why they don’t leave,” says Mrs. Linzer. Once their situations and cases are settled, they move from that first charity group to Family Promise for the next three months to learn how to be independent. From there, they can get their cars repaired at a charity called God’s Garage and they can get budget and finance classes with Woodforest Bank. As Mr. Landrm explains, “our club is the third-party charity that helps raise money for [Family Promise]; that’s what this group does.”
Jo Anne Linzer was contacted in 2018 by the Family Promise board asking if she wanted to join them; “I couldn’t think of any better way for me to volunteer my time” says Mrs. Linzer. At the time, they didn’t have a permanent place to house all of the people benefitting from Family Promise, so local churches and hotels hosted them up until the COVID-19 pandemic; after which they built their permanent house. “It’s in an industrial area in Conroe,” explains Mrs. Linzer, “and it can house six families.”
All of the members of the club have fond memories of their time at McCullough, especially those concerning the only other high school in The Woodlands at the time; Conroe High School. “They hated us, we hated them, it was fun,” says Missy Flannagan, The Big McC Club treasurer. “It was fun and vicious and all of the things.” The rival schools’ used to pull frequent pranks on each other and went all-out during football games and competitions, a rivalry that has bloomed into a relationship that benefits the local community. “We’ve interested [Conroe High School alumni’s] do-gooders club,” continues Mrs. Flannagan, “it’s sparked them, and them us, in wanting to do good in Montgomery County.”
“Being a Highlander is a very unique experience, at least it was for all of us,” says Mrs. Linzer. This club was never meant to be the McCullough High School alumni association, but a way to help support a local charity while still preserving their high school legacy. “It is our way, as graduates of McCollough, to give back to our community in a way that we think is impactful,” she continues. Overall, the primary goal of the Big McC Club is to support not only a local charity, but to further and support the legacy and memory of McCullough High School itself.
If you are interested in learning more about the club or coming to one of their events, you can find them on their website here! If you would like to learn more about Family Promise or donate to them, you can find them here!
