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Community Corner

Montville High Senior Looking for Sponsors by the Square Foot

Loren Rickards Is Building a Storage Shed for the Youth Center

Sometimes an idea stays with you.

That is what happened to Montville High School senior Loren Rickards, when he enrolled in the high school’s “senior project” class, and realized he already had the perfect idea for his project, a desperately needed equipment shed for the Montville Youth Center.

He even had the plans. That is because Rickards, a former Eagle Scout, had originally planned on building the shed for the Youth Center for his Eagle Scout project, even going so far as drawing up the plans, before the troop he was in folded.

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The senior project class at Montville High School gives students the opportunity to develop skills and explore ideas that are not part of the typical high school curriculum.

The projects range from such topics as wilderness survival to music composition and fund-raising. The class, led by Laura Greenstein, also gives kids the opportunity to work independently toward individual goals. “Loren’s project,” Greenstein says, “will benefit the community and he is seeking community support for it.”

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Rickards originally noticed the Youth Center’s need for an equipment shed while volunteering with the after-school program. Right now, the sports equipment is stored on rolling carts and in bins in the back room.

“I want to make it easily accessible," he says, "so you don’t have to bring everything in and out every day."

The equipment shed would be a great addition to the Youth Center, according to Montville Youth Services Bureau director Barbara Lockhart. Not only will it provide easy access for sporting equipment, but it will be of great assistance with the functions that the Center holds, serving as a convenient place to keep their grill and supplies. 

It will also help increase the kids' responsibilities on the playground, helping them to feel more invested in caring for the Center’s equipment, says Lockhart.

Rickards’ dad gave him the idea of how to raise the approximately $1,900 it will cost for materials and expenses to build the shed.

Rickards explains how it works.  “A sponsor will donate towards one or more square feet of the shed. For your sponsorship donation, you or your family will be recognized on a plaque that will be permanently mounted on the front of the shed," he says. "If we have sponsors for every square foot of the shed, all of the material will be paid for. If we exceed our goal, the additional money will be used to purchase new equipment to fill the shed.”

Rickards has been trying to get the word out through Facebook, and by placing ads on eBay, Craigslist and the Montville Patch.

So far he has just one sponsor, but he says he has five who have said they will contribute.  The project is not due until the beginning of June, but he is hoping to begin building the shed, with the help of friends and family, in April.

A longtime member of the Montville High drama club and the Academic Decathlon team, Rickards has been involved with the Youth Center since the fifth grade. “Loren is really invested in the agency, and it’s great that he wants to give back," says Lockhart. "He's a great kid."

His plans for the future involve working with kids too, possibly in elementary education or pediatric occupational therapy.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, plans are available for viewing at the Montville Youth Center during normal business hours.

There is also a drop box available at the Youth Center for donations. Please make sponsor check payable to: MYSB and in memo put: William Rickards Senior Project Sponsorship. You can also mail donations to: William Rickards, 289 Norwich New London Tpke, Uncasville, CT. 06382.

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