Scholarship to memorialize Spraggs boy
WAYNESBURG – Judy Calvert gets emotional when she thinks of the “overwhelming” support she and her family have received from Central Greene School District following the death of her son Charles in an all-terrain vehicle crash a month ago.
“Words can’t express what it means to me and my family,” Calvert said.
Her 12-year-old son, known as “Chuck” by friends, died Dec. 23 in an ATV crash near his Spraggs home. He was a fifth-grader at Waynesburg Central Elementary School, where Judy works in the cafeteria.
The district and elementary school staffs have rallied around her the past month, offering support and even launching an online fundraising page to help her family pay for funeral expenses.
“I’m humbled beyond belief,” Calvert said. “Not only as a mother, but as an employee. It’s like an extended family. Some of the teachers that have taught him, they’ll come over and check on me.”
They’ve now taken it to another level by starting a memorial scholarship in Chuck’s name to help Central Greene students who participate in the FFA program, formerly known as Future Farmers of America. Jamie Finch, who is a high school agriculture teacher and the Waynesburg FFA adviser, said two of the group’s student officers approached her to ask what they could do for the family.
They’re hoping to raise $5,500 to offer a $500 scholarship each year to one student interested in pursuing a career in agriculture. The scholarship would run from now until 2023, when Chuck would have graduated high school.
Chuck’s two older sisters, Johnna, a sophomore, and Sarah, a freshman, participated in FFA and the 4-H Club, and he often tagged along to activities, Finch said.
“We didn’t want him to be forgotten,” Finch said. “The qualities that Chucky had and that spirit he brought to our organization. He just brought this joy and enthusiasm and spirit to all of our activities we did. He made it extremely enjoyable.”
The fifth-grade class has already raised nearly $1,800 to help fund the scholarship through donations, and the FFA is now preparing to sell memorial T-shirts and raffle four handmade wreaths.
District Superintendent Brian Uplinger said that thoughtfulness showed by others in the district was indicative of Chuck.
“He would have definitely been a student in the (FFA) program,” Uplinger said. “A wonderful, wonderful boy. So caring and so giving of himself.”
Judy Calvert laughed for a moment when she thought of her son following his sisters to those FFA meetings. He sometimes would gripe before going, but once there, he would find enjoyment learning about agriculture and other topics the FFA teaches as he helped the group with anything it needed, she said.
Her voice cracked as she spoke of the tragic loss of her son who loved animals and spending time in 4-H. But Calvert takes some solace that the memorial scholarship will help others who shared Chuck’s interest in agriculture and farming.
“Eventually, children will get to use that money, and that’s what Chuck would’ve wanted,” Calvert said. “It’s overwhelming to know that a 12-year-old child touched so many lives.”
More information about the fundraising drives can be found on the Waynesburg FFA’s Facebook page. Anyone wishing to make a donation can also send checks to Finch made out to the Central Greene School District in care of the Charles Calvert Scholarship Fund. The checks can be mailed to the Waynesburg FFA at 30 Zimmerman Drive, Waynesburg, PA 15370.