Coshocton youth lead with acts of kindness

Since 2017 more than $10,000 has been returned to the community through acts of kindness by members of the Coshocton County Youth Leadership classes.

These pay-it-forward projects are made possible by the Coshocton Foundation and its board of trustees. On Feb. 18 the current class members shared how they each used their $100 to make a difference in the lives of others and the impact it had on them.

First to speak was JT Allison from River View High School. He is a member of the school’s swim team and used his money to help raise funds for backstroke wedges.

“These make it easier for swimmers to do their starts,” Allison said. “The swimmers are very excited. Usually, only larger teams with higher budgets have these.”

Caleb Chiapetta from Ridgewood High School donated his $100 to the Coshocton Masonic Temple to recognize their support of the community.

“I appreciate the opportunity to give back,” Chiapetta said.

Bransyn Dawson of Coshocton High School wanted to use his money to help as many people as possible. He wrote letters to area businesses and raised awareness on social media about his quest to make it free for all his fellow high school students to attend home games at Coshocton during the next school year.

“This made me realize how much impact one small idea can have,” Dawson said.

RVHS student Ayres Hamilton and Gwen Loper from the Coshocton Christian School both helped the Pregnancy Center of Coshocton. Hamilton wrote letters to businesses and made raffle tickets to increase her $100 to more than $300. Her money went toward helping with the purchase of an ultrasound machine for the center. Loper is organizing a diaper drive.

Kelsey McClellan from River View used her money to honor her late friend Ava Winner, who died from cancer. McClellan created care packages for teen patients at Akron Children’s Oncology Department. She raised money for the project with a bake sale and received donations from an Amazon Wish List.

“It felt really good to do this,” McClellan said. “Hopefully, I lightened up the day for some and helped families.”

Ridgewood student Wesson McPherson decided to help residents at Lafayette Pointe Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. He added $100 to his original amount, and his parents also gave him $100. He then used that money to buy items off the residents’ wish lists. He plans to assist the residents again at Christmastime.

Akron Children’s benefited from the program again when River View student Paisley Miller donated her money to the hospital’s center for diabetes and endocrinology. Miller spent two weeks at the hospital when she was first diagnosed with type one diabetes.

“I had the best doctors, and everyone there helped me learn how to live my new life,” she said. “I wanted to give back to them.”

Mairin Mullet from River View wanted to use her money to help the homeless. She is in the process of gathering ingredients to make 19 meals to donate to a shelter.

“Acts of service and food are my love languages,” she said. “Something as simple as sharing a meal can make people feel cared for, valued and loved.”

Payne Skelton from CHS spent his $100 at Christmastime on a Salvation Army Angel Tree recipient. The tag said the young boy loved Mickey Mouse, so Skelton made sure to give him a Christmas full of things he loved.

River View’s Owen Spaulding also donated in memory of Ava Winner. He increased his money with raffle baskets and donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Akron.

Ava Walsh of River View donated to Nationwide Children's Hospital’s NICU to help newborn babies who need specialized medical care and their families.

“These families were expecting healthy babies but are now facing long hospital stays and the fear of the unknown,” Walsh said.

This project taught her that even small acts of kindness can have large impacts.

“Paying it forward is not about the money, but the heart you have behind it,” Walsh said.

Ridgewood’s Emma Wheeler hosted a pancake breakfast to raise money to update the playground in Bakersville. More than 150 attended the event, and she increased her funds to more than $2,000.

Wylan Wright from Coshocton raised money to help with the Blessing Box going behind the Thompson Business Center.

Aurora Yoder of River View was another student who honored and remembered Ava Winner. Yoder gave her money to another student who is working hard to have a bench made in Winner’s memory.

“It made me feel amazing to help,” Yoder said. “It’s a great way to remember the sweet and energetic person Ava was.”

Betsy Gosnell, executive director of Coshocton County Youth Leadership, was impressed with the thoughts and passion the students put into their pay-it-forward projects.

“No matter how great or small, you can have an impact on your community,” she said.

Coshocton County Youth Leadership is a program for area high school juniors. To learn more about applying for the program, visit www.leadershipcoshoctoncounty.org/about-ccyl/.