The state’s annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. featured four students who were awarded for speeches they wrote praising Dr. King’s work. The students shared their winning essays from the pulpit of Trinity Episcopal Church on Capitol Square in Columbus. Here are Columbus third grader Elena Earley, Columbus fifth grader Mackenzie Lewis, Columbus freshman Playon Patrick and sophomore Ivy Holley of Lima. The video of the ceremony is here.
And there was a special honor for one of the winners. 10-year-old Mackenzie Lewis saw news coverage of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan – and launched a challenge among Columbus churches to donate water. And then at a festival called Kids Helping Kids, she collected more water, paper products and cleaning supplies. “And we took all that stuff to Flint, Michigan. And I felt so bad for this one man because he didn’t want cases. He wanted gallons just so he could take a little bath,” Lewis said.
320 gallons and more than 1300 cases of water were delivered to Flint. For that, the Columbus third grader earned a humanitarian award from Gov. John Kasich.
