For Kenzie Scanlon, the holidays weren’t always happy. Her turbulent upbringing was marked by the struggle of both parents with addiction, her father’s arrest, a fire in the house that destroyed all the family property, and then her father’s sudden death.
Some bright spots, however, were when she and her siblings received Christmas gifts, thanks to donors who picked their names from her Texas high school’s angel tree and granted their wishes.
Scanlon wants to make sure other kids experience the same luck, so the freshman returned to her old school last week to become an Angel Tree donor herself.
“I know how hard it is to be a student in that situation,” Scanlon tells PEOPLE. “I want to be that bright spot in other kids’ lives.”
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Kenzie Scanlon.
Hannah Zhang, New Caney High School yearbook photographer
Scanlon, 19, the oldest of four siblings, says she knows how much a kind gesture can mean, especially to people who suffered through such a volatile childhood.
Her parents, who separated when she was young, both had trouble holding down jobs and were in and out of their children’s lives, she said. Her father abused drugs, was imprisoned for shoplifting and later died at age 38 after some pancreatic ulcers burst, Scanlon says.
Meanwhile, Scanlon had to step in and act as her siblings’ caregiver during the years when her mother was involved with abusive boyfriends and was often away, she says. Once when her mother wasn’t around, faulty wiring started a fire and the house burned down, she says. They moved into a new house, but Scanlon and her brother later moved out and went to live with other families after a separate incident.
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Her brother, Ayden, 16, says Scanlon has made a big difference for him.
“Kenzie practically raised us,” she tells PEOPLE. “Honestly, if it wasn’t for Kenzie I wouldn’t be as good as I am in or out of school.”
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Kenzie Scanlon.
Hannah Zhang, New Caney High School yearbook photographer
During her high school career, Scanlon was elected class president at New Caney High School in Texas, took multiple dual credit and AP classes, played percussion in the band and performed in school plays.
It was a good way, she said, “to show my brothers and sisters that with everything we go through, we can still be involved and be better than our circumstances.”
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One of the more significant school activities, she said, was participation in the annual Angel Tree program in which teachers, students and parents collect money to buy gifts for about 200 deserving children, while students organize and wrap the gifts.
In 2021, Scanlon and her siblings were among the beneficiaries. At Christmas time, everyone received gifts, including some of her favorites like a James Avery charm bracelet and AirPods. The following two years, younger children also received gifts.
“It helped me a lot when I was going through everything,” says Scanlon. “It really felt like our community cared about us.”
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Kenzie Scanlon.
Hannah Zhang, New Caney High School yearbook photographer
Community support also allowed her to go to college, she said. Last year, she was one of the winners of a $20,000 scholarship to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, which plans to give out more than $28 million in scholarships this year.
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Kenzie Scanlon.
Hannah Zhang, New Caney High School yearbook photographer
Scanlon is now a first-generation college student attending Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, but she made the effort to return to her old high school to participate in the Angel Tree program.
It made her “so happy,” she says, “knowing I was giving back.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the SAMHSA Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education