By Linda Lockhart
A small child's life can make a big impact. The life of Ben Hayes is a good example. In memory of the 16 month old, who passed away on April 30, staff members from the Ohio University Child Development Center (CDC) inspired nearly 100 family, friends and teachers to participate in May's March of Dimes WalkAmerica, raising about $4,500 for the organization.
Ben, born 10 weeks prematurely, was a poster child for March of Dimes last year. Since he and brother Peter spent their days at the Child Development Center, their mother, Michele Hayes, encouraged a few of the center's staff members to participate in WalkAmerica last year. This spring she asked those staff members if they would walk again and teacher Cheryl Schroer took on the task of organizing a team. Upon Ben's death, the Hayes family requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the March of Dimes. Participation in WalkAmerica seemed to provide a perfect tribute to Ben, so Schroer recruited fellow teachers Jennifer Waligura and Laura Nadeau to help drum up support for the event.
"The staff was very supportive," Schoer said. Instead of a few individuals participating, as had the year before, participation in the event truly became a team effort. Staff members and parents of CDC children pitched in, as did colleagues of Michele Hayes, who teaches in the Athens City school system. The group found volunteers and sponsors, not only for the walking event, but to print t-shirts emblazoned with "Ben's Team," a name Michele Hayes had suggested. Brother Peter's preschool classmate drew a picture of Ben as her way of remembering him; the child-portrait was added to the shirts.
In less than two weeks, the WalkAmerica team leaders had assembled a group of 75 volunteers to walk and numerous others that worked behind the scenes to collect donations from individuals and businesses. Of 16 staff members at the center, 10 put on walking shoes for the day. Additionally, parents and children from the center, family and friends joined in the stroll. And the fund-raising didn't end after the event was completed. The team had ordered more t-shirts than needed for team members, so the extras went on sale for $5 each; proceeds, of course, going to March of Dimes.
All told, within a few days Schroer and Waligura had built a team that actively memorialized the life of a small boy. Waligura added, in addition to the March of Dimes contribution, a tree was planted near the entry to the center with a plaque bearing Ben's name. A center parent is building a bench that will set nearby. And as an ongoing remembrance, the team leaders are already planning to rally a team next year, too.
"We'll walk in Ben's honor again," Schroer said, "and hopefully we'll beat our $4,500 total."
Linda Lockhart is communications and operations coordinator in the College of Health and Human Services.
