Kindness of Jess Colburn Still Shines at JSRHS
The Jessica Colburn Memorial Fund was created after longtime special education paraeducator Jessica Colburn passed away following a 6-year battle with cancer in 2023. John Stark students and her work at the school in the Life Skills program always held a special place in her heart. The fund was created to honor Jess by supporting students in accessing extracurricular activities. This year, money from the fund will allow ten students to attend the John Stark prom on May 4. These students would not otherwise afford to purchase tickets.
Another passion for Jess Colburn was the continued growth of the Best Buddies program at John Stark. Jess, along with fellow paraeducator Carole Zervos along with then JSRHS student CJ Drabble, worked to become a registered Best Buddy Chapter in 2017. The mission of Best Buddies is to support inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The John Stark Chapter joined the annual Best Buddies Walk in 2019. Again this year, the John Stark Best Buddies Chapter will be walking in Friendship Walk in Concord. The John Stark Chapter has 96 registered walkers signed up for the May 11 Best Buddies walk.