MIND OVER MATTER
HUTTO — The loss of a family member to cancer spurred a Hutto Middle School eighth grader and his friend to organize a service project that assembled 100 care packages benefiting chemotherapy patients.
Drawing inspiration from his late dad, Charlie Heras created Mind Over Matter to bring to the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America region competition, where the project took first place.
Leading up to the competition, Heras, along with fellow eighth-grader Alicia Lopez, put on fundraising events including a silent auction that raised $1,000 with prizes of various services, teacher baskets and even a $600-value Botox treatment.
In addition to their fundraising, Heras and Lopez received a $500 Student IMPACT grant in December from the Hutto Education Foundation, which awards pupil-led initiatives.
Heras’ father died in 2021 from astrocytoma, a type of brain tumor. The tumor was found when Heras was under a year old, so he grew up seeing his father go through chemotherapy treatment and the obstacles that came with it for 10 years.
“My dad, he was very, very motivated, even though what he was going through, and like, he just kept going no matter what,” Heras said. “That just really motivated me to do the same thing. … It just shows that you could do anything.”
Lopez said her friend’s altruism made her want to help.
“Him (Heras) having that motivation to do, like, a project because of something that happened in his family made me feel like, ‘I’m close with him. I’m close with his family. Why not push myself to … try to do it too?’ Just knowing it means something to him also helped me with that,” Lopez said.
Foundation Director Claudia Cardwell said Heras’ drive is an example to all.
“When I met Charlie, just his personality, like, I could tell he was very passionate about it. I could tell it came from a place, you know, that was in his heart. I could tell that it (the project) was truly student-led,” she added.
With the help of the rest of the FCCLA members at HMS, Heras and Lopez put together 100 tote bags filled with hand warmers, compression socks, beanies, hand sanitizer, lip balm, soap and lotion for sensitive skin, electrolyte drinks, stress balls and supportive notes from the community.
They brought the portfolio to the competition Jan. 30-Feb. 1 in Corpus Christi.
It showcased how Heras and Lopez led the project, from applying the specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based, or SMART, goals method to gathering resources and managing a budget.
After securing the top spot at the regional competition, the duo now advances to the state-level competition held in Dallas in April, where they have the chance to win a $5,000 scholarship to Texas Tech University.
FCCLA advisor Erin Pustejovsky said Hutto Middle has won the prize for the past four years and is rooting for her pupils to continue the tradition.
“(Heras and Lopez) are some of my super leaders. They’re ones that have more a, like, natural ability to really just step up and lead. … They are always up for just taking every single opportunity … One of my main things that I try to get students to understand is when you take every opportunity, new doors open,” Pustejovsky said.
The pair are currently doing outreach to find a local hospital to donate the care packages to and plan to donate extra funds to cancer treatment research.
Community members can donate to the student organization to support projects like Mind Over Matter at huttoisd.revtrak.net/ ms/hms/hms-fccla/#/v/ hms-fccla- donations.
“I’m just hoping that it (the project) shows that there’s support out there, there (are) people that care,” Heras said.
