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Teen’s giving makes her grand marshall of July 4 parade

Jessica Waters, 14, is the youngest ever Beavercreek 4th of July parade grand marshall. Jessica is the reigning Ohio Junior Teen America and recently raised $500 to buy an I-Pad for a 4th grade special needs class. Staff photo by Ron Alvey

Ron Alvey Jessica Waters, 14, is the youngest ever Beavercreek 4th of July parade grand marshall. Jessica is the reigning Ohio Junior Teen America and recently raised $500 to buy an I-Pad for a 4th grade special needs class. Staff photo by Ron Alvey

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By By April Price, Staff Writer 11:20 AM Thursday, June 30, 2011

BEAVERCREEK — On a Friday night while all of her friends were partying it up at a bonfire, Jessica Waters was busy raising money for special needs children.

Passing up on parties is nothing new to her since “there’s always gonna be parties” to attend, she said.

But on June 10, Deborah Russell’s fourth-grade special needs class at Shaw Elementary School needed her more. While her friends don’t always understand her volunteer commitments, the students she raised the money for sure did, as they received an iPad for classroom learning. Commitments like this tend to set her apart from her peers. Jessica said she enjoys what she does and she doesn’t do it for the recognition. For all of her efforts, Jessica, 14, has been selected as the youngest ever Grand Marshall for Beavercreek’s July 4 parade. This honor is more than well deserved.

“I was very surprised I was even nominated,” she said.

While kids her age are rarely up to the task of giving back on a large scale, she does much more than that. Instead of emptying her pockets, she chooses to advocate and use her resources to help bring awareness to disabilities in children.

Jessica, who attends Beavercreek High School, knows what it is to be disabled. She has epilepsy but chooses to define it as one of her strengths. While Jessica is better known as the 2011 Miss Ohio Junior Teen America, she is also known as a community leader and national ambassador to The Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio and works with The Make a Wish Foundation and the Beavercreek Food Pantry, all charities close to her heart. Her mother, Chastity Irwin, cannot say enough about her daughter. “She does such amazing work, yet she is so humble it’s almost frustrating.”

Jessica raised funds by selling T-shirts at the Walk for Epilepsy on June 11. The money she raised was used to send a child to camp this summer.

Janine Poppa, the president and CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio, applauds Jessica’s willingness to raise awareness. “Jessica is a good advocate, many are quiet about epilepsy or are too embarrassed to speak out,” she said.

Jessica is in the process of organizing the Beavercreek Box In, a effort to fill the Beavercreek Food Pantry. The event will be Sept. 24 at Wright State University. She hopes to involve other teens.

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