WMS eighth-grader Rileigh Leighton, founder of “Rileigh’s Rainbows, provides free school supplies to students in need.
By Krista Cerminaro
To say Williamstown Middle School eighth grader Rileigh Leighton keeps busy is an understatement.
When the aspiring forensic biology major — who’s part of the WMS Braves Club and Builder’s Club — isn’t playing club volleyball, town softball or golf, she’s purchasing and packaging school supplies to donate to students in need.
It’s mid-April, and Leighton’s living room looks like any ordinary living room — ordained with furnishings and family photos. But, by the end of summer, the rooms in her family’s Williamstown home will soon be filled with tons of supplies for Williamstown students — from binders and notebooks, to backpacks, calculators and earbuds.
At just 14, Leighton already holds the title of CEO and founder of “Rileigh’s Rainbows,” a nonprofit that helps provide free school supplies to Monroe Township students in need.
In 2014, Leighton said the organization started by helping three students, and has since grown tremendously.
“This year, we’re trying to go for over 175,” she said.
As a result of her efforts, Leighton has become just one of two New Jersey recipients of the 2018 Prudential Spirit of Community Award and was recognized at the Board of Education meeting on April 5.
Two honorees from each state will attend a four-day trip to Washington, D.C., to attend an award ceremony, sightsee and participate in various activities. Leighton, however, will only attend two of the days.
“I’m going for Saturday and Sunday, because I don’t want to skip school,” the National Junior Honor Society honors student said.
Leighton will also be recognized by the state Board of Education and the acting commissioner of education for her volunteer work at an annual recognition ceremony on May 19. Leighton was nominated by WMS Principal Dana Mericle.
Leighton’s vision for Rileigh’s Rainbows became a reality when she was just 9 years old and a student at Oak Knoll Elementary School.
“I saw students who didn’t have a lot of school supplies — they had one binder, not as much as other students had,” Leighton said.
Leighton sent an email to then-principal Dr. Jill DelConte, offering to pay for three students’ school supplies. Her mom found out, and “Rileigh’s Rainbows” has been a work in progress ever since.
“[Rileigh has] one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever seen,” Leighton’s mother, Jennifer Turbett-Leighton, said. “She’s always been like that.”
“When she was little, she had this dream, this goal, that she was going to build a homeless shelter in our backyard,” Turbett-Leighton joked. “She would ask me, day in and day out.”
Turbett-Leighton encouraged her daughter to hold onto that dream, but start smaller. That’s where Rileigh’s Rainbow’s comes in.
Leighton’s parents paid for the first year of supplies, and since the foundation has grown, Leighton has generated funds through donations and annual fundraising events, which included a Paint Night and a Beef and Beer, which helped raise more than $6,000 for the nonprofit.
“The support from not just family, but friends and the community, it just really overwhelms me — that they all jumped right on Rileigh’s Rainbows and supported her dream, and her goal, 200 percent,” Turbett-Leighton said.
Leighton and her mom attributed a lot of the fundraising success to the donations of family members, and the assistance from WMS staff Maureen Coehlo and Jennifer Longo, as well as longtime friend Tina Pyne.
“They help with the volunteering, they help with doing fundraisers,” Turbett-Leighton said. “The three of them — without them, we would not be able to do this.”
Turbett-Leighton said she and her daughter spend about 12 to 15 days over the summer shopping for supplies. Last year, they were also able to provide some supplies for Holly Glen teachers who had to leave their school supplies behind, as they made the temporary switch to Radix Elementary School. Turbett-Leighton also praised Staples for its generosity in helping provide boxes to transport the supplies, donating calendars and giving them deals.
Despite the recognition Leighton has received, the most rewarding part, for her, is seeing the effect her contributions have made on the students she’s been able to help.
“The first couple of years, I got letters back from the kids,” Leighton said. “It was really hard to read, but it made me think, ‘these kids are now really happy.’ They wrote, ‘thank you so much, we love our new school supplies’ — that was probably the most proud moment.”
Next year, Leighton said she hopes to reach 200 to 250 kids, driving the number of children she’s helped to more than 500.
For more information on the organization, visit www.facebook.com/rileighcollett14.
