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Meet the 2026 Amity Difference Maker Award Winners
Over a year ago the Upper Arlington Education Foundation was honored to introduce the Amity Difference Maker Awards, made possible through the generosity of an Upper Arlington family. These awards recognize students and staff who make our schools stronger by leading with kindness, inclusion, compassion, and connection.
Each recipient receives a $1,000 grant from the Upper Arlington Education Foundation to expand the impact of their work and inspire even more positive change across our schools.
The 2026 honorees are making a difference well beyond the walls of their classrooms. From advocating for youth suicide prevention across Ohio to helping hundreds of students understand hunger and food insecurity through hands-on service learning, these difference makers are turning empathy into action.
Amity Difference Maker Student Award: Colson S., Upper Arlington High School
The 2026 Amity Difference Maker Student Award recipient is Colson S. a senior at Upper Arlington High School.
As an active member of the Youth Advisory Council for the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, Colson has helped bring a student perspective to conversations surrounding mental health and suicide prevention. His empathy and compassion for others have inspired him to advocate for ways to make it easier for young people to seek help and support.
Most recently, Colson and his fellow youth advisory council members helped develop and design a new 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline campaign aimed at youth across Ohio. Their work included creating N88 “Nate,” an animated clock character with no hands. The design represents the campaign’s message that it is never too late to reach out for help.
Colson was recently recognized alongside Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation leaders for his contributions to the campaign. But for Colson, the work is about more than creating a campaign. He wants to help destigmatize mental health concerns so that more young people feel comfortable seeking the help they need.
His leadership, student voice, creativity and commitment to helping others exemplify what it means to be a difference maker — and he hopes to bring that same work back to his own community.
Amity Difference Maker Staff Award: Katie Benton, Nicole Staker, Ashley Stechschulte & Kelli Wilcox, Barrington Elementary School
The 2026 Amity Difference Maker Staff Award recipients are four Barrington Progressive Program teachers Katie Benton, Nicole Staker, Ashley Stechschulte and Kelli Wilcox. This mighty team of 4th grade teachers came together around a shared question: What does it mean to meet the needs of our community?
Their answer became a year-long authentic learning experience, appropriately called Meeting the Needs of the Community and funded in part by a UA+Ed Grant, that engaged approximately 300 K–5 students in learning about hunger, food insecurity, empathy, wants and needs, and the importance of helping others.
The teachers designed the project from the ground up. They wrote the grant, developed lessons, coordinated activities and facilitated the experience alongside their students — often putting in significant time outside of school hours to bring the project to life.
Students didn't just learn about community needs; they took action. The project included service-learning experiences, an Empty Bowls fundraiser and the creation of five Little Free Pantries, built and decorated by students and families and placed throughout Columbus. Those pantries are now providing resources to people who need them, extending the impact of the students’ learning far beyond Barrington.
The project also connected the school with community organizations, including the Dream Center and Home for Families, creating new relationships and opportunities for students to see how their actions can contribute to the broader Columbus community.
Already, this dynamic team has a clear vision for how they’ll put their $1,000 grant to work, using the funds to build on their mission and extend its impact. Katie Benton shared their plan:
We are excited to spend our Amity Award money on hydroponic kits and other materials we will use for buddy lessons in our progressive classes throughout the year, focusing on our theme. Every classroom will have a hydroponic garden they will put together and use to grow edible plants (herbs, lettuce). Our theme is “Growing for Good!” We look forward to continuing our work with the Free Little Pantries and adding some learning surrounding growing food, healthy eating, and hydroponics.
What began with four teachers and an idea has become a meaningful experience for hundreds of students and a resource for communities beyond Upper Arlington.
Celebrating Amity Difference Makers
The 2026 Amity Difference Maker Award recipients demonstrate that meaningful change can begin with something as simple as listening to others, recognizing a need and deciding to do something about it.
We are proud to celebrate Colson S., Katie Benton, Nicole Staker, Ashley Stechschulte and Kelli Wilcox for the compassion, leadership and action they bring to the Upper Arlington community and beyond.
The Upper Arlington Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides access to meaningful opportunities for students that are beyond the budget of the Upper Arlington School District. Established in 1985, UA+Ed is permanently structured to fund programs and projects today and for generations to come. The Upper Arlington Alumni Association is an important part of the foundation and keeps graduates connected, engaged, and motivated to pay it forward.
Click below to see full NBC News Story highlighting Colson S., the 988 "Nate" Campaign, and the Youth Advisory Council of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation.
Meeting the Needs of Our Community funded by UA+Ed Grant (photos provided by Katie Benton & team)
