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By Christian Simmons 

For the Clemmons Courier

During the summer before he turned a junior in West Forsyth High School, Dylan Williamson coached the neighborhood children’s swim team called the “Stingrays”

He enjoyed coaching the children’s swim team to the point that when the summer was over, Williamson began to feel the pull to become more involved with the children.

“I had a babysitter that was a mentor to me and that I looked up to so I knew the importance of a kid having someone to look up to. And I wanted to be that mentor for them” Williamson said.

However, as the school year began, Williamson noticed that his community, especially the children, seemed too busy in the humdrum of regular life to take some time out for some community togetherness and involvement.

Williamson’s passion for being a mentor for the community’s children kept reminding him that his passion needed to find a way to see past all the hustle and bustle to come up with a way to change all that.  

It wasn’t too long after that when Williamson had a vision.

He saw how the community in which he lived could be brought together to do some positive things. Especially with, and for, the children.

His vision allowed him to create Dylan’s FUN Corner.

At Dylan’s FUN Corner, the children of the community have the opportunity to read, perform arts and crafts, along with participating in other fun activities. 

“At the FUN Corner, we set up for the first hour to be about reading, and the second hour about activities like baked cookies, arts and crafts, played outside, and games like candy bingo, along with other activities of that nature,” Williamson said.

Seeing the success of the FUN Corner, Williamson still felt that it wasn’t enough and wanted more for the community to become involved in, especially for the kids that he cared so much for. 

Williamson racked his brain trying to think of other things he could do with the children of his community. 

Then, he remembered his time at Morgan Elementary School. 

“When I was a student at Morgan Elementary, I waited in the cafeteria for my bus one day and I saw that they had bags of food out on a table. I saw other students picking them up so I decided to pick one of them up, too.” Williamson said. “When I got home, my mom figured out that they were meant for those students who were less fortunate. This gave me the idea to help Meals 4 Morgan with donations.”

Williamson, along with the help of donators on his Facebook page, raised $500 and he plans on bringing a check to the principal, Lisa Davis on the following day. 

With so much passion for the children of his community, Williamson also plans on being there for them long after high school is finished.

Keeping with the activities in the FUN Corner that Williamson created, he plans on going to college to help those kids that plan on playing sports for their school, along with helping students learn as well.

“I plan on majoring in sports media with a minor in education so that I have opportunities to help the children in both fields since I come from a family of educators,” Williams said.

The future is looking bright for this young man. And the kids he helps along the way are sure to benefit from his love for making sure that their future shines as brightly as his own. 

If you are interested in finding more about Dylan’s Fun Corner, you can check it out on Facebook. Simply search for Dylan’s Fun Corner.