A CHRISTMAS mission Teen reaches out to needy families

By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
WAYNE CLAYCOMB ISN'T CONCERNED about what he'll get for Christmas.
He knows his grandparents -- he calls them Mom and Papa -- will make sure he gets something nice.
What this 14-year-old is concerned about are the 500 upper Appalachia families who've asked for help from the JOSHUA mission in Steubenville.
Over the past month, the teen has collected about a dozen boxes full of toys. They'll be delivered to the mission next weekend.
Grandmother Jo Ann Claycomb remembers what the teen told her about the collection recently.
"'You know what, Mom?'" he said. "'I have Christmas. Knowing the other kids are going to have Christmas, I don't need anything.'"
The drive started when Wayne went with a group to a service camp at JOSHUA -- Journeys of Service Helping Upper Appalachia. Campers helped the community in various ways, with Wayne tiling a homeless shelter. His grandfather, Barry Claycomb, said the experience changed Wayne's whole outlook on life.
Extending help
Wayne said he and his grandparents will make the 67-mile trip to Steubenville Dec. 6 and drop the toys off at a soup kitchen, where registered families can stop by to get items for their children. He wants to drop it off and leave, "hush, hush," he said.
"He's doing it from his heart," Jo Ann said. "He doesn't want the credit."
Jo Ann called the boy generous and helpful.
"He thinks more of other people than he does of himself," Barry added.
Wayne has gotten some help through his church, Grace Lutheran in Austintown. A neighbor, who works at the Dollar General in Youngstown, bought gifts and challenged her family to do the same. Friends at Grandma Ross's Country Kitchen in Austintown also helped, as did Maui Toys Inc. in Youngstown.
"So many people just opened their hearts," Jo Anne said. "They said, 'I don't have a lot, but I can give you this.'"
Wayne said he never expected he'd get so many toys when he started his project.
Jo Ann recalls the first time he looked in a box and there was just one book.
As he started bringing gifts home from the church, his spirits rose.
"'Mom, look,'" he'd tell Jo Ann.
"He was so excited," she said.
Proud parents
Jo Ann and Barry Claycomb have raised Wayne since he was an infant, because their son was unable to, as was Wayne's mother. And they consider themselves lucky.
"I think I feel luckier," Wayne said.
A ninth-grader at Chaney High School, Wayne also teaches karate twice a week, is active in church and attends Bible study with a group of college students. He wants to become a video-game designer and has spent time at Youngstown State University computer camp.
"He's really proven himself, being so young," his grandmother said. "He's not a normal 14-year-old getting in trouble. He's made us proud. We've heard so much violence and so much hate -- here we see someone doing something positive.
"We look around and we're so grateful for what we have that it's time to share. And we're happy that he realizes that too."
When asked which of the gifts would be his favorite, Wayne said he'd pick a book: The third installment in the Harry Potter series. (He has it in the bottom of a box where he won't think twice about it.)
As for his grandparents, they have their own Christmas wishes.
"Happiness and good health," Barry said.
"If we have that, we've got it all, don't we?" Jo Ann said.