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“A 15-year-old kid who knows his family is having money problems might not eat,” she says. “These students need to have lunch to be productive, learn and do their best in school.”

Fortenberry also realizes that awareness of the problem is increasing. Businesses such as Bargersville Wellness and Energy Spot that want to give back to the community have held fund drives. Percentages of profits were donated to the Angel Fund of their choice.

So far thousands of dollars have been raised for each school corporation, and the total amount of money donated slowly grows every day. Going forward, Fortenberry envisions the initiative following a two-pronged approach to the problem. If parents can pay off half the amount their child owes, EKE will match the funds in order to erase the entire debt. The second aspect is providing parents with aid in applying for free and reduced lunch.

“We realize we need to catch this on the front end,” Fortenberry says. “There is a great quote by Desmond Tutu that says, ‘There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.’ Our goal for 2023-24 is to get ahead of the problem by making sure parents know there is a free and reduced lunch program available, and providing them with help they might need in filling out the paperwork.”

In the future the initiative leaders hope it can include other nearby communities. Fortenberry points out that no amount is too small. Even a small donation helps.

“People are suffering everywhere and people want to help,” she says. “We make it easy for people to donate. Kids have no control over the amount of money their parents make. We just want to provide a little bit of relief to these families.”

Cghs Runner Ty Garrett Sprints To Coveted State Award

Photography Provided

Center Grove High School’s Hall of Fame will soon add another legend. Senior cross country runner, Ty Garrett, not only helped lead the CGHS boys cross country team to a third-place finish in the 2022 State Finals, but also to its best season in school history. Garrett finished fourth in the state meet, earning him First Team AllState honors. Weeks after the finals, he was awarded the most coveted state award for a high school runner, Indiana’s 2022 Mr. Cross Country.

“I am very proud to receive this award,” says Garrett. “It was one of my goals at the start of my senior season to win this award and I am very happy to have achieved my goal.”

“I am super proud to see Ty earn Mr. Cross Country,” says Parker Mimbela, CGHS senior cross country runner and Garrett’s teammate and friend. “It fits him as a runner. He didn’t win every race and wasn’t the state champion, but he was the most consistent worker in practice and dominated every time he raced, especially when it mattered most.” Garrett was CGHS’s top runner in the 2019 state meet as a freshman, with a 22nd place finish, and helping the team place 14th overall. Following his first varsity season, Garrett moved to Colorado for the next two years, returning to CGHS for his senior year.

“Saying goodbye to a friend is tough,” says

CGHS boys cross country head coach Howard Harrell. “But saying welcome back home is so joyous. The team never lost contact with Ty. The texts, the phone calls, the mini trips to Colorado, and the mini trips to Greenwood were numerous. In many ways, he was still a part of the team. In spirit, he was there to celebrate with us when we climbed the podium for the first time in the fall of 2020. In spirit, he was there to comfort us when we fell just short of the podium in 2021. Ty was still a Trojan.”

Garrett was well-respected by his coaches and teammates for his hard work and leading by example.

“His charisma is so inviting,” says Harrell. “It was like he never left. His presence at practices instantly improved our workouts. Everyone stepped up their game as we began to train for the top. His biggest asset to the team was not his low number stick at the meets, rather it was that he made everyone on the team a better runner at practice.”

“Every day, Ty put in so much work to ensure he was the best he could be,” says Mimbela. “Everyone on the team could see how badly Ty wanted to be the best and that pushed all of us to want to be on his level when it came to practicing, mindset, and taking care of his body. Any team that Ty is on, is always going to be a better team.”

Besides the Mr. Cross Country award, Garrett has compiled numerous other running accolades:

• 2022 & 2019 CGHS Most Valuable

Runner

• 2022 & 2019 First Team All-State

• 2020 Fastest Freshman in the 3200 in Indiana history with a time of 9:08.87

• 2022 Named All-American by Running Lane National XC Champions

However, nothing was more rewarding than the bond and joy he had with his coaches and teammates in his final year of high school.

“His Trojan teammates were there for him in the good times”, says Harrell. “They were there for him in the bad times. He was there for them in the good times. He was there for them in the bad times. Being a good teammate is a two-way street. It’s not about the destination and the hardware you accumulate, it’s about the journey you take with your friends and teammates. Those are the things that will be remembered and treasured the most.”

“The special thing about Ty is that even with all the amazing accolades that he has achieved over the years, he never puts down others, he never trash talks, and he doesn’t cause drama,” says Mimbela. “He knows how good he is, but he never rubs it in our faces. That’s what I love about Ty the most.”

“The biggest thing I will remember from this season is how much fun I had being on a team with everyone I grew up with and have been friends with since freshman year,” says Garrett. “We had huge goals for this season as well as ups and downs in terms of performance; however, what stood out to me was that no matter what the outcome was, my teammates and I always found a way to have fun. Rather this is at practice or races and sometimes even on the start line, we always made sure to remember to have some fun. I enjoyed spending my final year of high school back where I originally grew up. One of the biggest things that sticks out to me about CG is its competitiveness both athletically and academically. I would like to thank God, my family, my friends, and my coaches for helping and supporting me through my high school cross-country career.”

Garrett has an athletic scholarship to run cross country for Wake Forest. Once again, he has set high goals for himself.

“I plan to study mathematical economics,” says Garrett. “One of my academic goals is to graduate Summa Cum Laude. Athletically, I want to help my team win an NCAA national cross-country championship as well as win an individual NCAA title.”

“Ty is a great representative of Center Grove High School,” says CGHS Principal Jeff Henderson. “His determination and work ethic are second to none. Throughout his high school career, he has continued to grow in pursuit of his goals. We are incredibly proud of Ty and wish him the absolute best as he continues his academic and cross-country career at Wake Forest.”

Garrett has aspirations to continue his passion for running after college.

“I would like to run professionally, hopefully competing in the World Championships and the Olympics.”

Harrell has a team motto: “Aim High. Team.” Garrett indeed took this to heart.