43
Photo
Neighbors | Zack Shively.Rachel's Challenge presented to Austintown Middle School on Oct. 12. The organization works to create a positive change in schools and communities across the world. Rachel Scott, the namesake for the organization, died in the Columbine school shooting in 1999.
Photo
Neighbors | Zack Shively.Craig Mowery explained the five challenges asked by Rachel's Challenge. They are: look for the best in people, dream big, choose positive influences, speak with kindness and let loved ones know they are loved. These challenges will be put in place through Austintown Middle School's new club, the Friends of Rachel Club.
Photo
Neighbors | Zack Shively.Craig Mowery, presenter for Rachel's Challenge, told the students different stories about Rachel Scott's life and impact. Scott believed that positive change could happen through chain reactions, where one person helps another and that person helps another.
By ZACK SHIVELY
Rachel’s Challenge had a series of presentations on Oct. 12 at Austintown Middle School to push students to have a positive impact on the world.
The organization is named after Rachel Joy Scott, a victim of the school shooting at Columbine High School in 1999. In her short life, she had a noticeable positive impact on those around her at her school and in her community.
Scott believed that everyone could play a part in changing the world through chain reactions. She said that if someone did something kind for another person, the second person would be more likely to do something kind in return, creating a positive chain reaction for change.
The presentation included video interviews of teachers, friends and family of Scott and pictures her life, poetry and journals. Chris Mowery, the presenter at the school, gave the presentation three times before lunch during the school day. He later gave a community presentation at 6:30 p.m. for families of the students and friends from other school districts.
Austintown Middle School Principal Benjamin Baldner worked with the organization to create a Friends of Rachel Club at the school at one o’clock. Nearly 100 students and ten staff members will put in place goals to spread positivity throughout their school and community. They based their goals around the organization’s five challenges.
The challenges began with “Look for the best in others,“ along with ending prejudice. A video played of Rachel’s brother, Craig Scott, talking about the shooting that day. He was in the school’s library where the violence started. He said that the shooters had made fun of his friend for being African American prior to shooting him. This challenge calls for students to end prejudice and hate in any form, whether about skin color, socioeconomic background or anything else.
The second challenge asked students to “Dream big.“ Rachel Scott had dreams of positively affecting millions of people from an early age. She acted on these daily by helping those in her school.
The third challenge told the students to “choose positive influences and be one.“ Scott wrote that she wanted to help those with special needs, the new students and students being bullied.
Their fourth challenge asks students to “Speak with kindness.“ A video of a friend of Scott’s played on the screen. He talked about how easy and important it is to treat people politely and respectfully.
The fifth challenge asked everyone in the room to let loved ones know that they are loved. Mowery said these conversations can be awkward or difficult, but he stressed that they need to happen.
He said that they design the program to occur in school and at home. He said that bullying happens both during the school day and at home through cyberbullying. Rachel’s Challenge asks students to help during school and promote positivity on social media pages.
Mowery has been with Rachel’s Challenge for four years. He has garnered a relationship with Rachel Scott’s parents since joining. He had known of Scott’s story before joining and named his daughter after her.
Rachel’s Challenge presents at schools throughout the world. They aim to spread Scott’s legacy through creating positive chain reactions.
More information on the group can be found at http://rachelschallenge.org/.