Risley Brothers, Rotary and Parkhill provide shelter for students in Candlewood
BY DANI TIETZ
dani@mahometnews.com
What does Garret Risley know?
After building a shelter for Mahomet-Seymour students who live in Candlewood, he knows that when kids have a need, the community will rally around them.
Risely, a Special Education Teacher at Mahomet-Seymour High School, noticed that some of his students who live in Candlewood came off the bus wet last year.
Instead of just shrugging it off, Risley connected with former Mahomet-Seymour High School principal Shannon Cheek and Mahomet-Seymour Schools Superintendent Lindsey Hall to see if it might be possible to build a shelter in Candlewood.
Hall connected with the Mahomet Rotary Club to see if it could help fund the project, and Troy Parkhill offered to pour the concrete pad. Nick York, the M-S Director of Transportation, helped to identify where the best spot would be for a bus shelter.
“The people that I worked with reiterated just how much people in Mahomet care for our kids,” Garret said.
Gary Denzer, the Treasurer of the Mahomet Rotary Club, agreed.
“This was a case of where a need was recognized by individuals who were concerned for the well-being of local students,” he said. “When news of it made its way to the Mahomet Rotary Club board, we were excited to support it financially.
“In fact, our board offered to support it at twice the amount originally proposed.”
Alongside the generous offerings of community members, Garret Risley turned to his brother, Grant, a fellow Mahomet-Seymour alum, to construct the shelter. Once they gathered the funding and materials, it took them three days to put together.
“It was great working on this project with him from a comfort standpoint because I knew with him on board it would get done, and done the right way,” Garret said.
