Who is Rising up for Honor?
Rising up for Honor is a Destination Imagination, Project Outreach team from Huntington High School that is working to make a change in their community. Each year the team has been challenged to find a problem in the community and help address it. Over the past four years, the team has chosen to help an issue that is a little different than the rest.
One day at practice, the team was sitting down trying to decide which way to focus their efforts, when something very personal came to light. One team member brought up a post that they had previously seen on the Facebook on the page: Wall of Honor. Wall of Honor is the page that shared Huntington native Lauren Tinsley and her then one-year-old daughter, Honor Tinsley’s story, who was born with Spina Bifida.
The team was inspired by a particular post that Lauren made about trying to play with her daughter at Chick-fil-a, despite it not being the most accessible place for her to play. Honor wanted to slide down the slide, very badly, but was unable to do it by herself. Lauren quickly scooped her up and slid down the slide allowing Honor to experience the same joy that her able bodied brother could easily experience. The post was so touching that they knew deep down in their heart that they wanted to help in some way. This sparked a movement, from that point forward they devoted the last three years to help make their park in Huntington a more accessible place, while also providing special needs awareness within the community of Huntington.
Over the past four years the team has been actively pursuing their set goals by holding events within the community. These events ranged from holding a Clean and Play Day in the park to holding a color run to help raise money for accessible equipment. Through these efforts the team was able to put in a wheelchair accessible swing in the park, a granite bench in “honor” of Honor and a mural painted in an easily accessible area. This year the team plans to put in sensory panels within the park.
This year the team not only is working to put new equipment in the playground, they are giving back to the community by providing free photo sessions with local photographers to children and adults with different abilities. These photographs will be displayed at the team’s “Celebration Night” which showcases the beauty in each others differences. The team is excited to showcase what makes the Huntington community diverse and share the stories of their extraordinary life. The event will be held Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017 at 6 to 8 p.m at Huntington High School. The event is free and refreshments will be provided.
For more information, follow Rising up for Honor on Facebook at Facebook.com/risingupforhonor or email the team’s sponser Angela Duncan at aduncan@huntingtonisd.com.