Pictured is a large portion of Legacy students at the Groove & Grub event.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve highlighted various clubs and groups to get involved with at CHS. However, we have many students who are far more involved than just what we have here at CHS. Today, I’d like to introduce you to a student-led community organization: The Legacy Youth Foundation.
Consisting of juniors and seniors from all three Columbus high schools, Legacy aims to shape the future of Columbus. Originally created a few years back, Legacy was a small group that sought to improve the lives of both adults and youth in our city. Funded by the Columbus Area Future Fund, Legacy members get involved with various community projects. Today, Legacy is a much larger group—upwards of 20 students.
At CHS, we have 12 students involved in this organization. For juniors, we have Thomas Abado and Jack Baptiste. For seniors, we have Molly Goc, Melissa Gomez Vazquez, Lilli Jensen, Joey Kallhoff, Carley Kapels, Ruby Shea, Maggie Shevlin, Michael Voichoskie, and me (that’s Reece Vasina).
A typical Legacy meeting takes place at the city’s Chamber of Commerce building to discuss the progress of each project. It’s truly up to members to meet up on their own time to make progress; one monthly meeting simply isn’t enough to make any progress! At each meeting, students pitch ideas and concerns they have. It’s also the perfect chance to get in touch with city executives to ensure projects are going to plan.
Currently, Legacy focuses on a plethora of projects. I spoke with a few members to see what they’re working on specifically, and I asked what they’d like to share about them.
Jensen, Kallhoff, and I are involved in revamping Columbus’s Christmas Stroll; it stopped after the COVID-19 pandemic, but Legacy took it on as a project—revamping the Christmas Stroll and making it a memorable event. While I can’t say a lot yet, I look forward to the family events it will bring to the downtown area around the Thanksgiving into Christmas season. Jensen notes, “I love being able to do an event that is giving Hallmark movie vibes!!” Take that as you will.
Another (slightly more well-known) project the group is taking on is the drive-in movie theater coming to Pawnee Park. It was originally set to open last summer, but the group has experienced a few bumps in the road—as expected. They are working hard with community members to get this project executed so the community can enjoy it.
The group has also put on some notable events for teenagers in the community. Each year, they host a Back to School Bash, which is an event for high school students to hang out and win prizes. This summer, Legacy started an event named Groove & Grub where there was a food truck and a live band downtown.
What do members think about the group? The overall consensus is that they love being able to make a difference in our community!
Shevlin notes, “Legacy has taught me a large variety of new skills that I will be able to take into the real world with me. It’s not a group where the leader does everything and everyone else can take credit. The members spend countless hours learning things that most high schoolers don’t.”
Jensen notes, “I love seeing the events and being able to know that we did it all by ourselves.”
Shea notes, “My favorite part about Legacy is that the members consist of individuals from all three Columbus schools. This makes Legacy diverse and different from regular high school organizations.”
Baptiste notes, “Something that I feel should be known about Legacy is that we put a lot of time into planning and hosting our events. I think this is a challenging experience, but it is worth it for the skills you gain, the connections you make, and the effects you have on the community.”
As you can tell, we have many CHS students making a difference outside of the walls of our school. Next time you see one of these events in our community, just know your peers had a hand in making it happen.
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