Students at Superior Central are organizing a special Toys For Tots drive in honor of one of their own.
At the December 7 girls basketball game between Munising and Superior Central, a toy drive will be held in honor of Neo John Paul Wilson, a Superior Central student who passed away from complications due to an unknown health defect this summer.
“We often said he was an old soul in a young man’s body,” Wilson’s friend Caleb Ritari said. “It didn’t matter if you were in your 90s or just a little kid, he’d sit down and have a conversation with you.”
Ritari, along with Jacob Comes, Greg Garrow and Paavo Mannisto, helped organize the event. The group worked in a grievance group founded after Wilson’s death this summer, stating they wanted to do something that would honor their friend, both in public service and in honor of the person he was.
“He was just a very honest and giving person. Never told a lie in his life. If you needed a friend, he would be your friend,” Comes said.
The kids were inspired by a similar toy drive conducted by Neo’s parents Gina and Phil Wilson.
“I think it’s awesome that they’re putting (the toy drive) together,” Phil said. “We did one just spur of the moment, so it’s great to see them do one of their own.”
Despite being a Superior Central student, the Wilsons live just on the other side of the county line in Skandia Township, so the toys collected went to Marquette County. The toys collected from this drive will be one of the first Alger County specific Toys for Tots drives in recent memory.
While the student-organizers have taken the lead on the project, they received great support from adults. The group’s staff advisor Wendy Kuehn has helped the students with organizing their thoughts into actions. Both Superior Central and Munising athletic departments have expressed their support and advertised the drive, with a statement planned to be made either between the JV and varsity games or at halftime of the varsity contest. With the competitive rivalry between the Mustangs and Cougars the last few years, the organizers hope that it will welcome more people to join in this remembrance event.
“This is the big game, and with the girls being good, we knew there are going to be a lot of people there,” Garrow said.
While there have been posters hung in the hallways of the schools and at local businesses, a video by Mannisto on social media platform TikTok has made huge progress in alerting the public. Shared onto other platforms, the video has been viewed over 30,000 times.
“We had to write the script on the board so we could get through it. It’s not something we’re all used to, but (Mannisto) did a great job with it,” Ritari said.
Other community engagement and fundraising opportunities between Wilson’s family and friends will continue with the branding of “Neo Lives”, a celebration of Wilson’s strong Christian faith. But for those looking for an extra sentiment with their toy donation, Neo was a lover of trains and products from John Deere. Donations can also be made at the Munising Flower Shop.
