STILLWATER, Okla. (KFOR) – Have you ever met a young person and just thought, “Wow, what an impressive kid?” Stillwater High School has an entire gymnasium of them.
Brennan Lacy is part of a group of students called Stillwater Makes a Change. They are called SMAC for short.
“Stillwater makes a change has been going on for 11 years, and it always makes a huge difference in our community,” Brennan Lacy said. “We see the perfect partnership of the high school and its entire community of Stillwater getting together to raise this money for a great organization.”
News 4 received Brennan’s Pay It Forward nomination and met him at the high school gym for the big surprise. There is no better way to crash a high school pep assembly.
“Right now we just did our senior favorites,” he said. “We recognized all of our seniors – most outgoing, cutest couple.”
Just around the corner, as part of the assembly, students are daring each other to smash eggs on their heads and to drink shakes made of blended foods – typical high school pranks. But the money they raised this year for SMAC is anything but a joke.
They raised nearly $200,000 this year and chose to donate it to Stillwater’s Habitat for Humanity. Since SMAC was formed 11 years ago, Stillwater students have raised more than $1 million.
Stephanie Hesser works with the students on behalf of Habitat for Humanity and is a News 4 and Pay It Forward viewer.
“All the time, because I work for a nonprofit, and honestly to watch you guys go out and honor people and their hard work,” Hesser said. “Sometimes it’s these little organizations that $400 is everything to them. You guys drove all the way to Stillwater to honor SMAC and what they’re doing and to honor what we’re doing. It means a lot.”
And it means even more to the people who live and work in the Habitat community, like Geri Lynn and Charlie Patterson. Geri has been a Habitat for Humanity homeowner since 1998.
“It was one of the best things that I could have ever had happen to me,” she said. “That gave me a lot of confidence and a lot of pride. It’s just been amazing.”
Charlie supervises all the construction efforts.
“It’s amazing. I can’t believe they can do that,” he said. “Every once in a while you hear all these bad things, and then when you see this [you know] our world is in good hands.”
Nominate someone for Pay it 4Ward!
Pay It 4Ward is a program through which KFOR-TV viewers can help someone they know who could use extra cash immediately.
Each week someone will receive $400 cash because one of their friends or co-workers wants to “Pay It 4Ward.”
When nominating, make sure to include your name, daytime phone number, who you nominate and why. Please follow all the criteria when nominating.
Email all that detailed information to us for it to be considered.
Pay It 4Ward is sponsored by First Fidelity Bank.
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