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By Robert Rosen
Hometown Weekly Staff
Hannah Randolph was like any ninth grade student. Well, no she wasn’t. She excelled at the many sports she played while also being an accomplished piano player and singer. She liked to write and was an excellent student.
But what made her stand out was how humble she was and how she treated others, never thinking she was better than anyone else. She went out of her way to make other people feel welcome and devoted time to doing things in the community.
“At such a young age, she really understood that life is about so much more than accomplishments,” said Dave Hannon. “It was about helping other people however you can.”
Sadly, Randolph died in a ski accident while still in the ninth grade at Wellesley High in 2012. But her memory has lived on and local residents have continued to do the service that she believed in while remembering her daily.
This year Hannah’s Helpers, a month-long campaign throughout the month of April to inspire people and groups to undertake projects, efforts or even simple gestures that make the world a better place. Prior to this year organizers put on the Wellesley One-Mile Run each year for the Hannah Randolph Fund, but that was just one day and they thought this would be a better way to honor Hannah and do more for the community and others.
“Hannah’s Helpers is a bit more user friendly in that people can do it on their own terms,” said Hannon, who was the race director. “They can do something small, they can do something big, they can do something for a moment or for a whole day. So it lets people have a direct impact- make the world a better place on their terms.”
People who participate in Hannah’s Helpers are asked to send pictures and information about what they did to [email protected] and they’ll be posted on the Hannah’s Helpers photo gallery, Twitter account and Facebook page.
To learn more about Hannah’s Helpers or to get involved, visit their website at www.wellesley1miler.org/hannahs-helpers, where you can also find a suggested list of nonprofits to get involved with.
“We’re just hoping to give people that little reminder we all need sometimes,” said Hannon.
Robert Rosen is an Editor at Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @roberterosen.