Asheville 6-year-old aims to win national contest to help her school after Helene
By Itinease McMiller
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — A six-year-old in Asheville is hoping to have a big impact in a national competition, turning a contest into a mission to help her school recover from the impacts of Hurricane Helene.
Ava Thomas-Chandler may be young, but she’s already proving that you’re never too young to make a difference. She attends the Francine Delany New School for Children in Asheville and is currently in third place in the America’s Favorite Student contest.
If she wins, she plans to donate the $20,000 prize to her school, helping rebuild after damage from Hurricane Helene.
Her mother, Kristin Thomas, who serves as PTA president at the school, said Ava was motivated to help after seeing the storm’s impact.
“We got hit with the hurricane, and her thing was, ‘How can I help? ‘ And so I saw you could [donate the] $20,000, and I knew our school needed a new roof, and we have a little bit of playground damage from the hurricane,” Thomas said.
She said the community is still feeling the effects of the storm more than a year later.
“Just because it’s been a year, we can’t say that everything is all fine and dandy. You drive around the city, you still see damage,” Thomas said.
With the April 2 deadline approaching, supporters are hoping to push Ava into first place not just for the title, but for the chance to make her school safer for students and staff. Ava said she’s excited about the opportunity to give back.
“I’m so excited,” Ava said. “I’m going to give some to my school.” In March, the school got new grass to replace the mud left behind from Helene damage more than a year ago.
They are also hoping to use the money to replace the rock they had to lay near the play area because of the storm, to make the school safer for students and staff.
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