WV freshman enjoys helping others

Jenna Dunbar is a freshman at West Valley High school who wants to make a difference. “I’ve been doing community service as far back as I can remember,” she said.

Jenna, 15, has organized food and clothing drives. In the fourth grade, during a parent/teacher conference, her teacher asked what her goals were for the year. She responded with “I want to make sure all the kids in my school have food to eat.” She went on to collect close to 250 pounds of food for the Second Harvest Food Bank. In middle school, she planned a campaign for Crosswalk, collecting necessities for teens.

It has never been something she was required or even urged to do; she’s done it all on her own. “She’s driven to help people,” said her mother, Karin Dunbar.

Lately, she has been collecting aluminum tabs for the Ronald McDonald House, which gives families a place to stay while their children are receiving treatment at the hospital. “There are so many kids at the hospital that are sick,” Jenna said, “I can’t do anything for them to make them better, but I can save tabs to give their families a chance to stay with them, when they need them.”

Jenna gives the tabs directly to the Ronald McDonald House, which cashes them in. She has collected more than 150 pounds so far, which is roughly 200,000 tabs. Her goal is to collect 2 million tabs.

Music is also a big part of Jenna’s life. She has played the trombone since the fifth grade and recently marched with the WV band in the Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington, D.C., and last April, she took up the guitar.

To Jenna, family, friends, music, her faith and helping others make the world go around. Her advice to other kids is to get out there and make a difference.