Non-profits receive donations from Noon Medina Kiwanis as part of essay contest

MEDINA — Several nonprofit organizations were awarded $150 donations through the Medina Noon Kiwanis as part of the annual Macy Hallock Essay Contest on Thursday.

Each year, the Medina Noon Kiwanis asks sixth-grade students from Medina Schools to submit essays about a local nonprofit, the impact it has on them and why it would deserve a monetary donation.

The contest was first introduced in 2017 in honor of late Noon Kiwanis member Macy Hallock and was extended to all of the middle schools.

At the start of the contest, A.I. Root Middle School was the only participating school, but Claggett Middle School joined the contest in 2023.

Contest organizer Barb Woodward said more than 200 essays were submitted from both middle schools and they were narrowed down to the final five.

The judging process takes a couple of steps, Woodward said, which starts with a set of judges reading small stacks of essays and choosing their top four or five choices. A second panel of judges then takes the chosen essays, narrowing them down to the final five.

“Each year, I hear comments from the judges that it’s too hard to select the top four or five,” Woodward said.

This year’s winners include Kate Ihrig of Claggett Middle School in support of Medina Creative Housing; Gavin Kerr of A.I. Root Middle School in support of Spark Medina; Gauge Garrett of A.I. Root in support of Cups Cafe; Emily Cassidy of A.I. Root in support of Mary Grace Memorial Foundation; and Aliah Yappel of A.I. Root in support of Feeding Medina County.

During the program, each of the students read their essay to the audience and then presented a $150 check from the Medina Noon Kiwanis to a representative from their chosen nonprofit.

In his speech, Gavin Kerr focused on the importance of kindness in a community and the work that Spark Medina does with that effort in mind.

Spark Medina was created a couple of years ago, focusing on creating service-learning opportunities for kids to begin making changes in their communities at a young age, Katy Medley of Spark Medina said.

Gavin said he has volunteered with Spark Medina previously and finds that the organization is a leader in spreading kindness.

“They will empower us to make the leap, to dive into kindness,” Gavin said. “We must take action, let’s start it with a spark of kindness.”

Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.

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