Kyle Wright, a Scottsboro High School senior and last year’s State Beta Secretary, appeared before the Scottsboro Board of Education at their January meeting to present his Step by Step program.  This young man has a passion for helping his community, and this program is specifically designed to help children in the local school system living in poverty.  The community is encouraged to help with the first step of this project which includes donating new shoes or making monetary donations.  New shoes may be taken to Scottsboro City Hall and donations made at Redstone Federal Credit Union for the Wildcat Step by Step Program. Kyle will be presenting this program to the Scottsboro City Council at their meeting on January 22.

Peggy M. Himburg

Scottsboro High School senior Kyle Wright has a passion for serving his community which came to light last year when he was the Alabama State Beta Secretary.  His new project, Step by Step, is designed to bring awareness and help those in our community living in poverty.

  “We have 60% of our Scottsboro City School students living in poverty,” Kyle told the Scottsboro City School Board as he presented his community project to them at their January meeting.

  Kyle has been looking for ways to continue to help in our community.  Through meetings with school and community leaders, it became apparent that one of the largest issues currently facing Scottsboro is an increasing rise in poverty. The project is designed to take intentional and meaningful steps to help.

Poverty includes substandard housing, hunger, homelessness, below average academics, behavior problems, and poor social function.  Poverty affects all aspects of a person’s life.

  Step1 of Kyle’s project addresses the physical needs.  He has organized a new shoe drive, and donations are currently being accepted.  You may drop off new shoes at Scottsboro City Hall or give a monetary donation at Redstone Federal Credit Union designating it for the Wildcat Step by Step Program.  All shoes collected will be distributed on a basis of need determined by SCS counselors and administrators.  All shoes will go to local students.  The community is encouraged to participate in this effort.

Step 2 addresses social and emotional needs.  Members of the Scottsboro High School Beta Club will serve as weekly mentors to kids in need at Collins Intermediate School.  The mentors will meet with the students during lunch time in hopes of developing a relationship with the student and serving as a positive role model.

  Step 3 is raising awareness of the issue of poverty.  “We will continue to build upon the foundation of this program one step at a time,” said Kyle.  “We will continue to identify areas of need within our community and work together to fight poverty step by step.”

  If you like more information on Kyle’s project, you should visit their website: https://sites.goggle.com/scottsboroschools.net/stepbystep.

  Kyle’s year as the State Beta Secretary was a great learning experience.  He led several projects at the high school and in the community.  Beta sponsor Beth Strickland said, “This ignited his passion for serving his community.”

  As a senior at SHS this year, Kyle is making plans to attend college where he will pursue a degree in secondary education.  He hopes to also be a basketball coach one day.