Ethan Crump has a heart for service
KCaulder@CalhounTimes.com
Ethan Crump is a student athlete at Calhoun High School with a heart for service. This year he created the Shop with a Stinger program, which helped brighten Christmas for 40 students within Calhoun City Schools. He was chosen for The Calhoun Times’ December Student of the Month because of his dedication to bettering his community, both at school and outside of it.
“Ethan Crump is an ideal example of what we ask our students to be,” said teacher Christina Long, who assisted him in establishing the event. “It is always amazing to see what wonders can be achieved when we believe in the cause and in the belief that it can be done. Ethan has done an outstanding job in building the Shop with the Stingers Program into a possible legacy program that hopefully will continue to serve the students and families of Calhoun City Schools for many years to come.”
Modeled after similar programs at Sonoraville High School and Red Bud Elementary School, Shop with a Stinger provided funds to select elementary school children to be used to purchase Christmas for themselves and their family members. Those same elementary school kids were then bused to Calhoun’s local Walmart to shop. High school volunteers went with the students, helping them pick out toys and gifts, stick to a budget and stay safe as they shop. After shopping, students were brought back to the high school to enjoy a meal that included pizza,
Capri Sun juices, cookies and more.
The funds for each step, from sponsoring students to buying food and supplies, were provided by high school students who donated directly to the Shop with a Stinger program.
According to Long, Crump oversaw the whole process of putting the program together, including promotion within the student body and collection of funds. Crump said the process was made simpler because of the help he received from Long and other staff at the school. He also credited his mother, Joy Goble, for her help getting the event off the ground.
“My mom is the counselor at Red Bud Elementary and she invited me to come and get involved with their program last year. When I went over there to do that it really helped me see things from a brand new perspective,” Crump said. “The next day I came to school and talked to them about getting it set up. Dr. Coombe was really supportive. Everybody here and everyone at Red Bud really helped me out and got me started.”
Of course, he said, putting an event like that together was still difficult. It required him to be a leader, put himself out there and work hard to make things come together. He joked that doing it all gave him “a couple gray hairs,” but said the result was better than anything he could’ve imagined.
“When I learned we didn’t have a program like this, I wanted to do it. Everyone has something they dream about doing, something that will let them leave a mark, and I feel like this is my thing,” Crump said. “The whole time, I was so stressed. I didn’t really talk much and was just running around, but when it was over, I looked back and thought, ‘Wow, that was so cool.’ I hope it’s still around 30 years from now and I can see my kids get involved with it.”
Reflecting back on his time in high school, Crump said Shop with a Stinger ranks among his very best memories. Spending time on the field with his baseball and football teammates and coaches is also up there, as are the Thursday night spaghetti dinners he shares with his closest friends.
“We have this little friend group that started about two years ago. We always go to my same friend’s house every Thursday and eat spaghetti. We’ve done that every Thursday for the last two years,” he said. “I know they’ll be with me, right beside me, 100 years from now. I have no doubt about that. I know every Christmas or Thanksgiving break from college, we’ll be at that same house eating together on Thursday.”
Asked about his college plans, Crump said he hopes to play baseball in college and that he wants to get a degree in business management. He isn’t yet sure what job he wants to do after college, but he knows he wants it to have meaning.
“If I could have a job where I do stuff like Shop with a Stinger, where what I’m doing really means something and helps people, that’s what I want,” he said. “That would be the dream.”