Bolingbrook Teens Celebrate Differences

Bolingbrook High School graduates Jackie Yelenosky and Connor Hale wanted to make their run for prom king and queen mean something, so they took to Twitter to ensure it did.

They tweeted out to their friends that for every retweet about voting for them for prom they would donate 25 cents to Celebrate Differences, a disability awareness organization that helps children with all types of disabilities and their families.

“We really just wanted running for prom to mean more,” Yelenosky said. “You just win. You didn’t have to do anything positive. So Connor and I really felt that we wanted running for prom king and queen to mean something more.”

They ended up raising $150, which equals out to 600 retweets.

“Our closest friends said they would help contribute to however many retweets we got so nobody that retweeted had to donate,” she said. “It all came out of our pockets.”

Yelenosky, whose younger sister has Down syndrome, said she’s volunteered with Celebrate Differences before and knew it was a worthy cause.

“I volunteered and taught a karate self-defense session for the kids,” Yelenosky said. “And I know one time for the parents Celebrate Differences organized a family lawyer to come and talk about what steps they can take to make sure their kids are supported.”

Now that high school is over for them, Hale will be heading off to Ohio State University and Yelenosky will go to the University of Iowa in the fall of 2015. Both are members of the National Honor Society.

If you are interested in donating to Celebrate Differences, an Oswego-based nonprofit, click here.