Every morning on their way to school, Cathy Koenig and her son, Cobe Kiehl, like to remember two things: be kind and help someone. Cobe took that mantra to heart recently when he saved money to buy toys, games, art supplies and sporting equipment for his classmates in the before- and after-school class of GEARS at Bear Creek School.
Cobe is a third-grader at Bear Creek, and he's been attending the GEARS program since kindergarten. One day, he got an idea of how to help his classmates. "I came home that day, and I said, 'Mom, I want to donate money to GEARS,'" Cobe recalled. "Everything they have done for me is just wonderful, and I really like GEARS. I love all my teachers, and I like all my friends at GEARS."
Cobe - who lives in Elizabethtown with his mom; his dad, Greg Kiehl; a hermit crab; a fish; and a dog - began saving money he received from friends and family for his birthday and Christmas. "He also did some chores around the house for money," Koenig stated. It took him almost two years to save enough money to reach his goal, and in February, he told his teachers at GEARS that he'd like to make a donation. He worked with the staff to purchase board games, kickballs, scooters, Play-Doh, Kinetic Sand and more for his classmates.
"My teacher showed my class everything and they were so excited," Cobe said. "They were like, 'What's this? What's this?' and then she told them, 'Cobe donated it,' and everybody was saying, 'Thank you, Cobe!'"
This wasn't the first time Cobe had given back to his community. Last year, he donated money and gift bags to residents at the ECHOS shelter, and he hopes to begin another collection to donate items to additional GEARS programs.
"We are really proud of him and what he did," Koenig stated. "Once he set his goal, he knew what he wanted to do and was set on it. Even if he got $5 for something, he put it right into his bank." Koenig noted that Cobe has a new goal for his next project: He'd like to invite others to help him. "He's trying to get some other kids involved," Koenig said. "He'd like to have other kids help him with whatever he does next."
As a thank-you to Cobe, GEARS staff members will plant a butterfly bush in his honor at the community center, located at 70 S. Poplar St. "I'm going to get to dig the hole for it, so that's really cool," Cobe said.
Cobe encourages other kids to give back like he has, adding, "If you have dreams, then follow them. ... One kid can make a difference."
Although the donation was Cobe's idea, he's quick to give credit to others for its success. "My friends and family helped me by giving me money," he said. "It wasn't really just me who did this. It was everybody that loves me."
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