KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. This story was shared with Ryan through a Cass County Community Advisory board initiated by KSHB 41. Your voice and story can be shared. Reach out to Ryan. Share your story idea with Ryan.
—
For high school students, prom can be a highlight of their young lives. It can also be something that younger kids look forward to as they watch siblings or older friends get ready for the big dance.
Even with the glitz and glamour of the night, there sometimes can be a dark shadow cast over families.
Prom weekend just passed in the Raymore-Peculiar School District.
To avoid any potential drunk driving tragedies, the school district's elementary students led the way by spreading an important safety message.
"I just wrote a note that was two paragraphs long and hoped that it was enough for them to like it," Ivyn Meyer, a fifth-grader at Creekmoor Elementary School, said.
At fifth grade, the future might seem too far away. Recess shenanigans are still a priority.
In Gretchen Friedrich's fifth-grade English class, she continued a writing assignment tradition that would hopefully impact high school students — handwritten letters offering an encouraging message of safety on prom night.
"Kids are just genuinely kind and I do think they look up to older kids and at this age they are able to really spill out their feelings and they’re really heartfelt letters," Friedrich said. "I think it’s really important it’s in the handwriting of a little kid. I think that really hits all of us different, even as adults."
Ivyn is one of many students whose letters were written to Raymore-Peculiar High School students heading to prom last week. They were placed on car windshields on Friday.
Brooke Stephenson thought she got a ticket when she approached her car last week when she found a piece of paper clipped to her windshield.
"It was the most adorable thing I had ever read," Stephenson said.
Her note was signed "From Ivyn."
It's how KSHB 41 Cass County Reporter Ryan Gamboa was able to introduce them to each other.
Brooke received her encouraging note from Ivyn, a student she didn't know. She later found out Ivyn's older brother is on the track team with Bro.
"During prom night, I hope you make good choices. Don't be drinking and driving," Ivyn wrote. "Hang out with people that are responsible... I hope you have a nice time at prom!"
Stephenson was surprised and touched at the message so much, in part, because it was a safety reminder she hadn't thought about.
"I feel like I would be letting some little boy down if I went out and made those decisions and something bad could’ve happened to me," she said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, car accidents are a leading cause in teen death.
Data from 2020 indicates that 29% of drivers killed between the ages of 15 and 20 had alcohol in their systems.
For Stephenson's mom, Shauna, it's already stressful letting her daughter get behind the wheel. But the kind note and reminder had an impact on their family.
"Just the intentional and thoughtful act from these kiddos to these bigger kiddos that they don’t even know," she explained. "It’s a lesson for all of us that we have to understand that such a small act of care and kindness can really have dramatic impacts."
It's unclear who needed this message of encouragement more on prom night.
But an outpouring of parents online shared the notes their student's received showed the program had an impact.
"It kind of makes me feel like a hero," Ivyn said. "I just tried to make it believable."
What may have appeared to be just another assignment likely saved lives on prom night.
—
