Owen Donahoe and Kyle Weideman, Kosciusko Youth Leadership Academy participants from Wawasee High School, learned if one plan doesn’t work, go with another plan to succeed.

The duo was chosen to present their Project Proud project PowerPoint presentation during the annual KYLA graduation program Wednesday evening. Their project was to raise funds to benefit Habitat for Humanity of Kosciusko County. But it wasn’t smooth sailing.

They began in September volunteering with Habitat for Humanity to learn more about the program and “see if they liked it.” They discovered the effort of the program makes a difference in individual lives as well as the community. “They do more than you think,” said Weideman.

Their goal was to raise $2,000. The plan was to sell MudLove bracelets to raise funds. Just offering the bracelets did not work. They tried harder changing their methods. In October they attended a football game selling Frisbee and the bracelets. But by November, “We were not selling at the rate we needed,” Donahoe stated.

The pair switched gears. They came up with the idea of a dodge ball tournament, with entry fees for participating teams. They went to area businesses for support and signed up teams. The tournament was held and funds were raised for Habitat For Humanity.

What they accomplished was selling $264 in MudLove bands, ran an 11- team tournament, raised $1,650 in team sponsorships, raised $274 in event donations/concessions. The total raised came to $2,188 for Habitat for Humanity of Kosciusko County.

What they learned was they needed more time to plan the alternate fundraiser and contact businesses, particularly time management. But they also learned not to give up if an idea does not work. The real learning came with the impact of their project. “It’s not about raising money,” they stated. “It is how the people came together. The time you put forth shows you care about the community,” stated Weideman.

Each KYLA participant was required to pick a project that benefits the community, volunteer time with an organization for a minimum of 10 hours and create a visual presentation. These project, titled Project Proud, were presented to the board with two projects being chosen to be presented on the evening of graduation.