CINCINNATI (Angela Ingram) -- He may only be in the sixth grade but a local student is inspiring his school to give. Gregory Weber has Down Syndrome and said he wanted to help others with special needs. Gregory is teaching others valuable life lessons.Gregory is proud of the barrels that line the halls of his school. The sixth-grader organized a community service project to collect clothes for Goodwill.What it does is that it allows students to give back to the community. So if you would be here in the morning, the students come and they bring their clothes in, they give jackets, and so it's really nice to give back to the community, said Assistant Principal Tony Greco. Gregory is a student at Dater Montessori on Boudinot Avenue. He got the idea from his older sister who did a similar drive a few years back and who also has Down Syndrome. The family focuses on community service but their mother said when it's their project they have to do the work themselves.Gregory's been doing this all on his own. I said if you're going to do it, you have to email the teachers. You have to email the principal and he did. He emailed them right away and started off and he's all gung-ho every day to find out what's in there and he wants to help people that have disabilities like he has, Karen Weber said.Goodwill will pick up all of the bags from Gregory's school Tuesday, May 26. They will then be brought to the Woodlawn store and Gregory will find out how many pounds in donations his efforts raised. Right now all of the bags full of clothing are stored in the back of the school. Eventually, they'll go to different Goodwill stores that help employ people with disabilities. Although it's his project, Gregory is quick to give credit to all of the people who've helped him including the aides at his school, and his parents. Normally the teachers do the instructing but they said in this case the entire school is learning a lesson in kindness from a student. The drive runs through Friday, May 22. The end of it coincides with the school's annual fundraising walk-a-thon which raises money for students' school supplies. Follow Angela Ingram on Twitter @newslaw1, and LIKE her on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @Local12 and LIKE us on Facebook for updates!
