Roehrig a leader for unification in Brillion

November 10, 2016

By David Nordby The Brillion News

BRILLION – In a world full of followers, Hannah Roehrig is a leader. The junior at Brillion High School is leading the charge to build up Project Unify at the high school and into the Brillion Community.

Project Unify is an extension of Special Olympics that works to include those with intellectual disabilities with those without them, through education and athletics.

The subjects of the club are simple: respect, accept and include.

“All of us are the same,” Roehrig said. “We’re trying to put together people without intellectual disabilities with people who have intellectual disabilities and unite them.”

Last year was the club’s premiere year at the school and they quickly integrated themselves into the school through a bake sale and running concessions at a basketball game, organized a kickball tournament and had four members jump in the Special Olympics Polar Plunge. They also sold “Spread The Word To End The Word” shirts for Special Olympics.

One of the group’s fundraisers that brought school-wide amusement was a “pie-in-the-face” contest where students donated money into buckets representing a teacher, with the bucket with the most money resulting in a meeting between a pie and the teacher.

This year, the club is planning to do repeats of many of last year’s events and more, especially since Roehrig feels more connected now as an upperclassman.

“Once I started getting some friends who are close to me in the group, then it really started branching out this year,” Roehrig said.

Earlier this year, the club voted on new positions. Roehrig is President. Dylan Voight serves as Vice President, Steven Ribble is Treasurer and a team of reporters includes Isaac Roehrig, Samantha Bonick, Karalyn Crystal and Amber Gauger.

Please see the complete story in the November 10, 2016 edition of The Brillion News.