Carey Ridge Elementary Students Featured on “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt: Kids Edition” – Mya and Malachi Edwards
Writer / Matt Keating
Photography Provided
Two students at Carey Ridge Elementary, Mya and Malachi Edwards, were recently recognized for their noble and selfless efforts to help other people.
The Carey Ridge Elementary fourth grader students helped promote a fun dance marathon hosted by Westfield High School. The dance was held to raise money for a Fort Myers, Florida school hit by Hurricane Ian.
Their impressive efforts to help the school damaged by hurricane Ian led them to be recently featured on “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt: Kids Edition.” It was a positive experience they will never forget.
Mya and Malachi’s mother, Destyni Edwards, says it was all part of elementary’s Carey Ridge Cares program that helps people. She says there are wonderful people in the program who are dedicated to helping others.
Mya says it has been a fun way to help others who need a lot of assistance.
“The Carey Ridge Elementary student council decided to start Carey Ridge Cares because we’re very fortunate,” Mya says. “Some people aren’t, so we wanted to help by donating to charities. Carey Ridge Cares is a program that raises money for charities every month.”
Malachi and Mya are the founding members of Carey Ridge Cares and work tirelessly to make the program a success. They also encourage other people to get involved and help, which led to them being featured in a story on “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt: Kids Edition.”
“We were pretty excited about it because we didn’t think the school would respond to us, but then our Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) members mentioned what we were doing in their meeting,” Mya says. “They got us connected with a family that knew someone who lived in Fort Myers. After that, everything started to happen.”
Mya and Malachi were excited about the dance marathon and had a great time with their school friends at the fun event in late November.
“The dance marathon also gave us the chance to have a mini-dance marathon for our school that everybody from kindergarten through fourth grade can participate in,” Malachi says. “We danced, played games, ate snacks and colored. The high schoolers hosted, but we helped promote it.”
Destyni Edwards says Mya and Malachi are also involved in other fun school activities that keep them busy.
“Some of the school activities they are involved in include the Spelling Bowl,” Destyni says. “Malachi is involved in the S.T.E.M. Leadership Club, and Mya is involved in choir.”
Mya notes that she has been inspired by the dedicated efforts of leaders at her school.
“Malachi and I would like to say that the Carey Ridge Elementary student council really cares,” Mya says.
Their mother says Mya and Malachi are already working on other future projects to help other people.
“One of the upcoming projects will be a Spirit Day for a student that passed away,” Destyni says.
