COLUMBUS-Parker Inks, 17, a student at Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic High School was one of two Ohio youth named Ohio’s top two youth volunteers of 2016 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.
Parker and Meagan Warren, 12, of Bexley, were recognized in the nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism.
Parker, a junior at St. Joseph Central Catholic High School, helped start a foundation eight years ago that has raised $150,000 through an annual dinner and auction to help families burdened by the high cost of caring for children with disabilities.
Parker, who was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy when he was a baby and uses a power wheelchair to get around, was hospitalized in 2008 with severe pneumonia. It was a terrible time for his family-not only was Parker sick, but his mother was undergoing chemotherapy and his father was not working.
One day, Parker had a visit from his school’s football coach.
“He and my dad told me that I have a purpose,” says Parker. “I thought these were just words of encouragement but the older I get the more I understand that I truly do have a purpose.”
After that visit, the coach organized several fundraisers to ease the family’s financial situation. Overwhelmed by the community’s generosity, Parker and his family wanted to “pay it forward” and founded a nonprofit organization, “Parker’s Purpose,” to help pay bills and purchase medical equipment for families of children with disabilities.
As one of five members of the foundation’s executive committee, Parker attends monthly meetings to review grant requests. To raise money, Parker organized an annual dinner and auction. Every year, he helps spread the word and is the spokesperson for the event. He weighs in on the choice of venue, the entertainment, and which celebrities will be asked to attend.
The money raised has helped more than 200 families over the years, Parker says, and he plans to keep going.
“One day, I hope I can look in the mirror and say that I have made an impact on others’ lives,” he says.
As state Honorees, Parker and Meagan are to each receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for four days of national recognition events.
While in Washington, D.C., they will tour the capital’s landmarks, meet top youth volunteers from other parts of the world, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill.
During the trip, 10 students will be named America’s top youth volunteers of 2016. These National Honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies, and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice.
