It was about 5:30 p.m. on Friday at the Lazy H addition on the southern edge of Sapulpa. The sun would be setting in less than twenty minutes, and the temperature was a chilly 29 degrees. Before another hour passed, Sapulpa would be getting another light snow.
The street was filled with children. Nearly all of them were either on electric scooters or on skateboards, getting pulled down the street by electric scooters.
The street was easily traversable now, but just a few days ago, it was covered with the same several inches of snow that most of Sapulpa had received. Like most neighborhoods, the residential streets went unplowed, making simple tasks like getting from the car to the house a challenge for some, especially the elderly.
Kylan Nelson, nine years old and in third grade at Holmes Park Elementary, was helping a neighbor up his slick driveway last weekend, as Sapulpa was getting the first of its two snowstorms, when he got the idea to help out the others on his street by shoveling their driveways.
He couldn’t do it all himself, but he didn’t have to go far for help.
Kylan got his brother, 13-year-old Teggen Jackson, and their friends Kruz Escue, also 9, and Sebastian Camacho, 14. The four of them were usually together anyway, so joining forces to help shovel driveways and streets made sense.
The boys worked most of the weekend and over the first few days of the week, clearing out driveways and the street they lived on. Neighbors took notice, and one of them posted an update on Facebook commending the boys for their generosity and hard work.
That post caught the attention of Jordan Ascencio, the Director of the Make Sense Foundation. MSF is the non-profit arm of SeneGence International and operates out of the Burnett Mansion.
Ascencio was struck by the character these young men showed and saw an opportunity to help.
“One post mentioned these kids are always out playing basketball, and how all the kids in the neighborhood shared one basketball goal,” she said. “We drove through the neighborhood to check out the driveways they shoveled, and sure enough, tons of kids were outside playing.”
So she went to purchase two new basketball goals for the neighborhood. When she told Sapulpa Walmart what they’d done, the retailer gave her a discount to cover the cost of new basketballs for each of the boys.
“The Make Sense Foundation is dedicated to women and children, and we thought this was the perfect way to show some kids in our community that people are always watching for the good in others,” Ascencio said.
When she showed up to give the boys their gift, they couldn’t believe it. “What? We get this?” One exclaimed.
Because the wind was picking up and the temperature was dropping, the goals were set aside to be assembled when the weather was a few degrees over freezing.
Kylan Nelson’s mom, Amanda Armstrong, was so proud of her son and his friends.
“They were bored from no school, and were worried about cars wrecking while they were out there, playing,” she said. “I’m not sure if they wanted to go back to school, or just have an excuse to be outside,” she said, laughing.
In any case, the hard work paid off, and the kids in the neighborhood got to enjoy the cleared streets before another light snow flurry started. Armstrong said she was glad that both the neighbor who made the post and the Make Sense Foundation had noticed the hard work and responded. “Young boys need to be recognized for the good stuff,” she said.
After another chilly weekend, next week brings a heatwave, with temperatures possibly reaching the low 60s. Which should be great weather for basketball over at the Lazy H.
