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7's HERO: Project Good gives kids the chance to make a difference

Project Good is an afterschool program open to all kids in the Treasure Valley. The goal is to turn students into leaders in our community by doing good for others.

BOISE, Idaho — One Stone is a unique private high school in Boise where students learn from hands on experience, problem solving, and making a difference in our community. 

Each year, they work on service projects, many times helping the people in our community who need it the most. 

"One Stone is a student driven nonprofit here in Boise Idaho founded in 2008." said Patrick Reagan, the Director of Lab 51 of One Stone. "We really believe in the power of students to do incredible things when you give them the time the resources and the trust to tackle important problems." 

At One Stone, the students have a foundry, a place to build and create. 

"It's a maker space." said student Cadence Kirst. "It's where we have all of our tools, our building supplies. We are using the tools, cutting wood, we are building everything, drilling all the holes and hardware. It's all done by us." 

Kirst is a member of One Stone's Project Good.

"It's an afterschool program, and any kid in the Treasure Valley can also join us," Kirst said. "We try to find problems or things that aren't going smoothly in our community or surrounding communities and try to help where we can." 

Kirst and her fellow students are building something really special for a little boy from Meridian. His name is Tug, he's in the second grade, and he has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and hydrocephalus. Tug's mom Marisa Smith said he had a rough start in life. 

"He had two strokes and two bleeds in his brain before he was born, and those bleeds caused cerebral palsy," Smith said. "He now uses a wheelchair, and he has a lot of challenges that he deals with each day. Tug is absolutely his own little guy, he has his own path. We really don't know what's next for him. We just know where we are right now. What I do know is, t's a joy to be his parent." 

Smith is always looking for ways to give Tug fun experiences. She really wanted an accessible swing for him in the backyard, but she needed help to make it happen. So, she posted a request in a Facebook group. 

"I said I need like a few really strong people who know how to use drills to help me put some stuff together so I can put a swing up for my kid," Smith said. "One of the people in that group sent me a message and she said hey, I know this group that might really want to do this." 

That group was from One Stone's Project Good. They set up a meeting with Smith. 

"There were all these high schoolers around the table with their mentors, but the high schoolers were leading the conversation. They are asking me all these questions, they are learning what it means to be Tug, why a swing is beneficial for him, all the safety things needed," Smith said. 

Kirst said they wanted to meet, and really listen to Smith to get a true idea of what Tug needs. 

"We went through a lot of designs online, and we talked with Tug's family and PT and all these people in his life. We saw what he needed and what he loves," Kirst said. 

The Project Good team went straight to work, putting in the hours, getting materials donated, and creating a specialized swing set for Tug. 

"It feels really good to be like okay, he likes swings, he likes sounds, we have little things we are adding to the swing set, just things that might pique his interest." Kirst said.   

When the swing set was done, seeing him finally play on it was an incredible feeling for them all. Tug loved it. 

"It's freedom for him, freedom for his family," Kirst said. 

Tug's mom was so touched, and so impressed by what the students built. 

"I really like the swing, I like the nice low platform, because he really can get on and off himself," Smith said. "I think it's so great, it's giving him something to interact with and be outside. I love the windchime they added since he loves music. It was really fascinating to be a part of the process with them and think wow, our young people today really can do these neat things." 

Project Good is always looking for more students to join in on the experience. 

"Project Good is open to all kids across the Treasure Valley at no cost. they can come get involved in really cool projects like this one," Reagan said. "The goal of project good is to make students better leaders and make the world a better place." 

That's exactly what these students are doing, one project at a time. 

"It's just an unreal experience," Kirst said. "I love people, I'm a people person, I think it's cool to work with people. So, working to build a whole swingset has been a dream come true. Being able to build fills your heart." 

For more information on One Stone, Lab 51 and how to be a part of Project Good, click here

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