Four students from Smithson Valley High School are leading service-driven campaigns to raise awareness for causes that are important to them and to their community.
From cancer and mental health awareness to recycling shoes, the campaigns are varied, but the need and passion are equally great.
Children’s Mental Health and Wellness – Colin Fuller & Ryann McAnelly
SVHS junior Colin Fuller and sophomore Ryann McAnelly were selected as the first students to become Trailblazers for the Junior League of San Antonio’s Paving Paths Campaign to help tackle mental illness in children.
“In researching mental health, I didn’t realize so many teens go undiagnosed or untreated,” McAnelly says. “It can happen to any of us. If I can help save one teen by getting them the help they need during a mental crisis, I feel like I have made a difference.”
Throughout their campaign which is underway now and continues through April 13, the duo will raise awareness about mental wellness along with money for the Clarity Child Guidance Center which is the only non-profit mental health facility serving Bexar, Kendall and Comal county youth ages 3 to 17.
“When I heard about this program, I felt like it really hit home to me as I see so many teens suffering from mental illness,” Fuller says. “There is a stigma that sometimes prevents kids from asking for help. I think creating awareness and also sharing that the Clarity Child Guidance Center is in our backyard was important to me.”
Visit Fuller and McAnelly’s donation page for more details and to get involved. https://pavingnewpaths.swell.gives/colinandryann
Student of the Year for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) – Avery Walker
SVHS sophomore Avery Walker is the 2020 Student of the Year candidate for LLS. She is the fourth student from SVHS to represent Comal ISD in this campaign which raises funds for the South Central Texas Chapter of LLS.
It is personal for Walker, who named her team, “Hope for Peggy,” after her grandmother who passed away from cancer and whom she never got the chance to meet.
Walker’s seven-week campaign is in full swing and ends Saturday, Feb. 28. Visit her donation page for more details.
KENS 5 Feature on LLS Campaigns at SVHS.
Soles4Souls Campaign – Abigail Redin
For the second year in a row, SVHS senior Abigail Redin is spearheading a district-wide Soles4Souls shoe drive. Last year, with the help of many student volunteers on six campuses, Redin delivered 5,500 shoes to the DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse at the Village at Stone Oak in San Antonio. This year, she hopes to deliver even more.
Soles4Souls is a non-profit organization which repurposes products such as shoes to supply micro-enterprise business, disaster relief and direct assistance programs around the world, creating jobs and disrupting the cycle of poverty; and relieving landfills.
This year’s campaign runs through Thursday, Feb. 13. Students and families are encouraged to clean out their closets and take all their unwanted shoes, even singles, to a participating location.
Comal ISD campuses with drop boxes include Canyon High, Canyon Lake High, Memorial Early College High, Smithson Valley High, Life Bridges, central office, Canyon Middle, Church Hill Middle, Danville Middle, Mountain Valley Middle, Pieper Ranch Middle, Smithson Valley Middle, Spring Branch Middle, Arlon Seay Elementary, Bill Brown Elementary, Clear Spring Elementary, Hoffmann Lane Elementary, Indian Springs Elementary, Johnson Ranch Elementary, Morningside Elementary, Mountain Valley Elementary and Timberwood Park Elementary.
Community partners with drop boxes include Beach Consulting, Chick-fil-A at Stone Ridge and Imunique Hair Artistry.
Click here for more information about this year's Soles4Souls Campaign.
-Colin Fuller and Ryann McAnelly are joining forces to raise awareness concerning mental wellness for the Junior League of San Antonio's Paving Paths Campaign benefitting the Clarity Child Guidance Center.
-Avery Walker is the 2020 Student of the Year candidate for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).
-Abigail Redin, pictured here with Comal ISD Superintendent Andrew Kim, has launched her second annual Soles4Souls shoe drive.